Prophylaxis 747 



in a very large number of cases in human medicine, but the 

 glittering results reported by its author have not been con- 

 firmed. Behring* comments upon it by saying that " Ma- 

 ragliano's tubercle antitoxin contains no antitoxin." 



Babes and Proca, | Maffucci and di Vestea, { McFarland, 

 De SchweinitzJI Fisch,** and Patersonff have all endeavored 

 to obtain serums of therapeutic value by immunizing animals 

 against living or dead tubercle bacilli or their products, but 

 without success. 



From these discordant observations, the more favorable 

 of which are probably the hasty records of inadequate or 

 incomplete experiments, the conclusion that little is to be 

 hoped from immune serums in the treatment of tuberculosis 

 is inevitable. 



Prophylaxis. It is the duty of every physician to 

 use every means in his power to prevent the spread of 

 tuberculous infection in the households under his care. 

 To this end patients should cease to kiss the members of 

 their families and friends; should have individual knives, 

 forks, spoons, cups, napkins, etc., carefully kept apart 

 secretly if the patient be sensitive upon the subject from 

 those of the family, and scalded after each meal; should 

 have their napkins and handkerchiefs, as well as whatever 

 clothing or bed-clothing is soiled by them, kept apart from 

 the common wash, and boiled; and should carefully col- 

 lect the expectoration in a suitable receptacle, that is ster- 

 ilized or disinfected, without being permitted to dry, as 

 it has been shown that the tubercle bacillus can remain 

 alive in dried sputum as long as nine months. The phys- 

 ician should also give directions for disinfecting the bed- 

 room occupied by a consumptive before it becomes the 

 chamber of a healthy person, though this should be as 

 much the function of the municipality as the disinfec- 

 tion practised after scarlatina, diphtheria, and smallpox. 



Boards of health are now becoming more and more in- 



* "Fortschritte der Med.," 1897. 

 t "La Med. Moderne," 1896, p. 37. 

 j "Centralbl. f. Bakt.," etc., 1896, Bd. xix, p. 208. 

 "Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc.," Aug. 21, 1897. 



|| "Centralbl. f. Bakt. und Parasitenk.," Sept. 15, 1897, Bd. xxn, 

 Nos. 8 and 9. 



** "Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc.," Oct. 30, 1897. 

 ft "Amer. Medico-Surg. Bull.," Jan. 25, 1898. 



