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Mr. W. M. Haffkine. 



The further Problems pursued in the Bombay Plague Research Laboratory. 



The task which lies now before the Plague Laboratory in connection 

 with prophylactic inoculation comprises the following problems : — 



The perfecting of processes for turning out large and uniform quan- 

 tities of material, and avoiding the variations due to the character 

 of the plague microbe, and to the differences in the composition of 

 the cultivation media ; 



The further investigation of the different constituents of the plague 

 prophylactic, with a view of intensifying those which produce 

 definite and beneficial results ; 



The possible mitigation of the reactionary symptoms after inocula- 

 tion; and 



The study of the effect of antiseptics used for preserving the prophy- 

 lactic ; 



while the most important general problems concerning plague relate to 

 the study of the curative treatment and to the life-history of the 

 plague microbes in nature. 



The Typhoid Inoculation. 



The inoculations against cholera and plague, which are the outcome 

 of the work of Jenner, Pasteur, and Koch, and their admirable succes- 

 sion of pupils, contain in their turn a promise of development and 

 success, which, I trust, will be only enhanced at every subsequent 

 step, and which, it seems to me, already warrants the application of 

 the same kind of effort to other diseases and epidemics. 



In this order of ideas permit me to enter a plea in favour of a 

 new inoculation campaign, which has been inaugurated already, and 

 which I hope will be carried out successfully, for the benefit of a large 

 number of soldiers of this country residing in India, and of white men 

 in general in all tropical countries. 



The problem of typhoid inoculation has quite a special interest for 

 Europeans, as much as cholera has for the natives of India. Typhoid 

 proved to be a more difficult disease to eradicate from military canton- 

 ments than cholera. It is possible that the explanation of this lies in 

 what is already known of the character of the microbes of these 

 diseases. , 



The typhoid bacillus when subjected to different chemical and physical 

 agents, such as acids or antiseptics, or a high temperature, or desicca- 

 tion, or the admixture of other microbes, appears far more resistant 

 than the cholera microbe. 



Such a character would ensure for the typhoid bacillus an existence 

 in more varied media, under more various climates, and a greater inde- 



