The sensation of last week undoubtedly centred in the paper read by the far-famed Dr. Koch at the meeting of the British Congress on Tuberculosis, on "The Combating of Tuberculosis in the Light of the Experience that has been gained in the Successful Combating of other Infectious Diseases." The learned Doctor comment ced his paper with the remark that it was now recognised that though social misery helped to foster the disease, tuberculosis was caused by a parasite—"'a visible and palpable enemy which could be pursued and annihilated." The knowledge of this fact had proved to him, directly the discovery was made, that the disease was preventable and could be eradicated if only the proper means were used. But this meant shoulder-to-shoulder ce-opera~ tion, not only among medical men, but of the whole population and the State. Dr. Koch then proceeded to point out how his estimation the disease was spread. He surprised many of his listeners and a vastly greater number of the world outside by stating that heredity had little to do with if, nor in his estimation was it imparted by eating tuberculous meat nor drinking milk obtained from cows infected with the disease, as his belief was that human tuberculosis was a totally different disease from that of cattle; therefore it was impossible that it could be.transmitted.
The Professor's theory is that in by far the greater number of cases of tuberculosis the disease has its origin in the lungs, and that the tubercle-bacilli are planted there by means of inhalation. Germs are scattered broadcast in the air, owing to the carclessness of consumptive patients, who should all be compelled to carry a flask or some other receptacle for use when expectoration is necessary. In extreme cases, the Doctor said, coughing or even speaking was the means of distributing hundreds of germs in
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.