300 GENERAL SCIENCE 



poison is so powerful that it stops the action of the heart. Just 

 as soon as the germ enters the body, the body tries to produce a 

 substance which will neutralize the toxin. This substance is called 

 anti-toxin, "anti" meaning " against." The anti-toxin does not 

 kill the germ, but simply destroys the toxin poison which the germ 

 has produced. 



Use of Anti-Toxin. Anti-toxin is rapidly produced in the horse. 

 Because of this fact, diphtheria germs are grown in beef broth where 

 they produce a great amount of toxin. This toxin is injected into 

 the blood of the horse which produces large quantities of anti-toxin 

 to neutralize the toxin poison. The horse is then bled, and the anti- 

 toxin purified and placed in bottles. It may now be injected into 

 people who are suffering from a severe attack of diphtheria. 



Pneumonia. In the colder parts of our country this disease 

 causes more deaths than any other. The germicidal substance which 

 is worked up by the body to kill the pneumonia germ stays in the 

 blood only a short time, and the patient may have a relapse before 

 completely recovering from the disease. A person may also have 

 the disease again and again. 



The germ can not be entirely avoided, but anything that builds 

 up the general health is a safeguard against pneumonia. Anything 

 that weakens the body may bring on the disease, for the germ may 

 be in the throat waiting for something to lower the germicidal power 

 of the body. The sputum from pneumonia patients should be 

 destroyed. 



Influejiza (grip), catarrh and colds are caused by germs, and may 

 be transferred from one person to another. 



Typhoid Fever. This disease has caused one-fifth of the world's 

 mortality. We contract typhoid fever by taking the germ into the 

 body through the mouth, usually in water or food. Moss-covered 

 buckets, stagnant pools and wells are breeding places for typhoid 

 germs. We find the germ also in oysters not strictly fresh, con- 

 taminated raw fruit, and polluted milk. 



The typhoid germ dies from drying and is not carried about in 

 the air. The excretions from typhoid patients contain millions of 

 germs, great numbers of which will be carried by flies if all excretions 

 are not destroved. 



