THE PHILIPPINE 



Journal of Science 



B. Medical Sciences 



Vol. V OCTOBEE, 1910 No. 4 



TOLERANCE FOR ALKALIES IN ASIATIC CHOLERA. 



By Andrew Watson Sellabds. 

 (From the Biological Laboratory, Bureau of Science. 



The symptoms of Asiatic cholera, in comparison with those of other 

 acute bacterial infections, present some unusual features. Although the 

 infectious process is extremely acute, the disease sometimes running 

 a fatal course in a few hours, yet the body temperature is usually 

 normal or subnormal during the stage of collapse. In this stage, a pro- 

 nounced disproportion frequently occurs between the temperature and 

 the pulse rate; for example, a temperature of 36° or 37° C. may be ac- 

 companied by a pulse rate varying perhaps from 130 to 160 per minute. 

 In contrast to the other infections of the intestine such as tuberculosis, 

 typhoid fever, and bacillary dysentery, there is a 'marked leucocytosis 

 comparable only to that which is sometimes seen in pneumonia. 



Certain features of the disease, such as the short course, the abrupt 

 onset, and the low body temperature, bear more resemblance to the 

 acute intoxications • of chemical origin than to the ordinary infectious 

 fevers. During the reaction from the state of collapse the symptoms 

 of toxaemia develop, but the origin of the toxin is. not entirely clear. 

 In addition to the hypothetical toxin of the cholera vibrio, the sudden 



1 Presented at the first biennial meeting of the Far Eastern Association of 

 Tropical Medicine, held at Manila, March 8, 1910. 



98151 ' 363 



