642 Typhoid Fever 



In 1903 Wright* published new statistics on the subject, and 

 between 1903 and 1908 numerous references to the subject appear 

 in the "British Medical Journal," in the "Lancet," and in the 

 "Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps," all favorable in their 

 general attitude. 



During the Mexican Revolution of 191 1, the United States Govern- 

 ment began, on March 10, 1911, the mobilization of regiments of the 

 United States Army on the Mexican frontier near San Antonio, 

 Texas. In order to prevent repetition of the sad experiences of the 

 Spanish-American War, in which the troops suffered terribly from 

 , typhoid fever, the Secretary of War determined that the entire 

 command should be immunized against the disease. Many of the 

 soldiers arriving on the ground had already been immunized, the 

 remainder were at once given the necessary injections. The mean 

 strength of the command at San Antonio was 12,000 up to June 30, 

 1911, a period approximating four months. During all that time 

 there were only 2 cases of typhoid fever in the encampment, i in • 

 an uninoculated civiUan teamster and i in an inoculated soldier. 

 Both cases recovered. The soldier suffered from so mild an attack 

 that it would not have been diagnosed had not a blood-culture been 

 made. During the four months from M^-rch loth to June 30th the 

 typhoid fever was prevalent among the civilians of San Antonio, 

 there being 40 cases with 19 deaths, f 



The prophylactic used was prepared from a specially selected 

 strain of Bacillus typhosus grown on agar-agar in KoUe flasks for 

 twenty-four hours. The growth was washed off with normal salt 

 solution, killed by heating at 55° to s6°C. in a water-bath, standard- 

 ized by counting the bacteria according to the method of Wright, 

 and after being diluted with salt solution, 0.25 per cent, of trikresol 

 was added. One cubic centimeter of the finished prophylactic con- 

 tained 1,000,000,000 baciUi. The first dose injected contained 

 500,000,000 bacilli, the second and third, given after ten and twenty 

 days, contained 1,000,000,000 each. The injections caused httle 

 inconvenience either locally or constitutionally. Only i case had 

 fever, chills, and sweats, and this was the only case requiring treat- 

 ment in the hospital. It subsequently developed that this soldier 

 was suffering from early tuberculosis, which may explain the unto- 

 ward symptoms from which he suffered. 



Specific Therapy. — Animals can be immunized to this bacillus, and 

 then, according to Chantemesse and Widal, develop antitoxic blood 

 capable of protecting other animals. SternJ found in the blood of 

 human convalescents a substance thought to have a protective effect 

 upon infected guinea-pigs. His observation is in accordance with a 



*"Brit. Med. Jour.," Oct. 10, 1903. 



t "Report of the Surgeon-General of the United States Army to the Secretary 

 of War," 191 1, Washington, D. C. 



t "Zeitschrift fur Hygiene," 1894, xvi, p. 458. 



