The Pasteur Experiments in Sydney

Feilding Star, Volume X, Issue 31, 23 August 1888, Page 3

The Pasteur Experiments in Sydney

[By Henby C. Wigg. M.D., F.R,C.S. [Melbourne Age.] When the New South Wales Government formally decided to test the variou: schemes for destroying rabbits by spread ing disease amongst them, it set aboul the work with a most commendable lib erality. Rodd's Island, a rocky island o! about one-third of an acre in extent, and situated in a narrow cove some three miles distant from Sydney by the ferry, was chosen as the site for the ex peri ments. The surface has been levelled by j blasting operations, and is almost covered Iby the various buildings ; but the margin is still fringed with small eucalypti and I wattles, with a few " honeysuckle" trees ! interspersed. The centre of the block is occupied by a great cage, intended for the rabbits, 100 feet by 80, and 10 feet high. This is formed of ordinary rabbuproof fencing, covered outside with wire network so exceedingly fine as to be flyproof, in order to prevent the possibility of conveying the infection by means of insects — one of the common modes of its propagation. Beyond this is a similar cage, 35 feet square, in which the other animals are placed which are to be subjected to the same treatment as the rab« bits, to show whether cr not they are susceptible to the poison. This is at present occupied by a sheep, a cow, a calf, a pig, a dog and a goat, which are being fed with " cultures" of the chickencholera mixed with their food, but hitherto without visible effect. It will be remembered that when the New jSouth Wales Government, some time ago, proposed a reward of L 25,000 for the discovery of a cure for the pesti* lence, Professor Watson came forward with his itch, Dr Butcher with his rot, and M. Pasteur with his cholera ; and all offered their services. M. Pasteur's plan rests upon the fact, now made certain through the labors of hundreds of patho logists, that diseases can be cultivated outside the body. Consumption, anthrax, leprosy, ghastly poisons of various kinds can be grown, each in its little warm bottle, and stored up for future use ; and every single drop of these can be used as a seed and each germ cultivated into millions. This of course puts fresh power into our hands and has effected much good, — with, it is to be feared, much harm also. The special disease he has entered for competition is the cholera des poules or chicken cholera, which has for iong been endemic in parts of France, and which was accidentally discovered to affect rabbits also. The mode of growing the disease in this:— Chicken broth (the fuvonte food of the disease when it is out of the body) is heated under pre« sure to a temperature of from 230 deg to 240 deg. Fah., in order to destroy any germs that it may contain, is neutralised with a little potash, and a single drop of the diseased blood is let fall into it. The microbes, exceedingly minute bodies of a somewhat hour glass shape, which are found in the blood, and which are the disease, feed upon the neutralised broth Eind rapidly reproduce themselves so that at the end of 24 hours the ' culture" us it is called, is a mass ol living poison. A drop of this " culture" will grow in the same way in the nutriment solution, and so it may be idcfinitely multiplied. Temperature is a most important factor in the process, and by cultivation at different heats the disease may be vroduced of rariout! degrees of malignity. The buildings, considering that they ire but for temporary use, are well con» siructed. The large and convenient * culture" is the first shown. It is furnished with breeding ovens for the dis* saaes, shaped rather like incubators, and having double walls, the space between which is filled wi;h water, that can be tieated by a ga* jet from below. The interior has perforated rack., in which the culture tubes stand, and one oven for attenuating the virus is furnished with an tutomatic thermal register for keeping :he cultures alnags at the same temperature, and of so wonderfully ingenious a character that it seems as if nothing sbort of a miracle would make it work. The steritizer will not give a heat if over 212 deg., but this if necessary, *an be altered. The walls and the firm solid tables are covered with the variously shaped tubes and flasks and retorts necessary for the investigation and manufacture of the poisons. The next room is a small laboratory for the chemical operations, and beyond is the microscope room. The microscope itself is made by Czei.«s. of Jena* The highest powers are a one«eighteenth, both oil im« mersions. The gas is furnished by an " Alpa" air gas machine. There is a small crematorium outside, intend for burning the bodies of any animals that may die on the island. The expenses incurred hitherto by Government are, I am informed, about L6OOO. It is necessary to point out that but little is yet known about this virulent poison, and that all that can be proved by the present experiments is of a purely negative character. They may show that the disease cannot be taken by sheep or oxen and by certain birds, but they cannot prove that it will be taken by contagion from rabbit to rabbit in ihe open ; and if it has to be fed to them it will be nothing more than a clumsy and expensive poison. The hope of the Pastuer agents is that it may sweep off the animals in a great epidemic ; but this seems very doubful. All domestic fowls are killed by it — geese and turkeys with especial rapidity ; ducks rather less easily. The disease does not appear to exist in the colony, none of the supposed cases that have been investigated by Dr Katz proving to be it. It is even doubtful whether it will not attack deer, and it is conconsidered by some that the great deer epidemic of 1877 in Germany was really chicken cholera, though others, with Dr Katz, regard it has the " wildseuche." a disease with oval miscrobes. In a word, any real experiments must have the colon y for a field, and the destruction of the rabbits for proof. — Melbourne Age. The Hon. Mr Larnach has intimated to the Rev. Father Ginaty that he will contribute the full amount of his honorarium for the present session to the funds of the Magdalen Asylum at Mont Magdala, Canterbury. It is heing urged upon the Government that they shall, during the recess, formulate a scheme to provide for foresttree planting by the State, or to encourage forest«tree planting by private individuals. This is an excellent suggestion. As showing the effect of the firmness of j the frozen meat market at home, the next six steamers of S.S. and Albion Company and the New Zealand Ship* ping Company to leave the colony, have the whole of their meat space fully taken up. The carrying capacity of these I vessels combined will be equal to about j 195,000 carcases of mutton.