A treatise on Asiatic cholera / edited and prepared by Edmund Charles Wendt, in association with Drs. John C. Peters, Ely McClellan, John B. Hamilton, and Geo. M. Sternberg.
- Edmund Charles Wendt
- Date:
- 1885
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A treatise on Asiatic cholera / edited and prepared by Edmund Charles Wendt, in association with Drs. John C. Peters, Ely McClellan, John B. Hamilton, and Geo. M. Sternberg. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Gerstein Science Information Centre at the University of Toronto, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Gerstein Science Information Centre, University of Toronto.
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![Eor the disinfection of clothing more dilute solutions should be used, as, for example, one part of Labarraque's solution to 100 of water; or one ounce of bleaching powder in five gallons of water. For this purpose, however, we prefer the 1:5,000 solution of mercuric chloride heretofore recommended. Other disinfectants might be added to the list if we had need of them, but inasmuch as thev are all inferior to those already named, it is unnec- tssarv to devote much attention to them in the present chapter. The mineral acids are all active germicide agents, and destroy spores after two hours contact when i)resent in the proportion of 8 to 15 per cent, (sul- l)huric 8 per cent., nitric 8 per cent., hydrochloric 15 per cent.). In the ab- sence of spores much weaker solutions are effective. Thus in the writer's experiments ]niblished in the American Journal of the Medical Sciences in April, 188:), it was found that sulphuric acid in the proportion of 1: 200 (.05 per cent.) destroys the vitality of B. termo in active growth, and of the two species of micrococci experimented upon. Sulphur Dioxide in aqueous solution—sulphurous acid—destroys mi- crococci and bacilli in active growth in the proportion of 1: 2,000 l)y weight, the time of contact being two hours. But this agent is impotent for the destruction of spores.' Commercial sulphurous acid would doubtless be effective for the de- struction of cholera germs in a brief time when diluted with fifty j^arts of water. Sulphur dioxide in gaseous form, as produced by the combustion of sulphur in the presence of an abundant supply of oxygen, is commonly considered one of the most reliable agents for the disinfection of ships, liospital wards, etc. There can be no doubt of its value for this purpose Avhen the necessary conditions are observed—and especially in the presence of moisture; but recent experiments show that much of the so-called dis- infection with this agent is little better than a farce; and it is difficult to dL'termine how much of the success which is attributed to f u]nigatio]i with sulphurous fumes is due to the germicide action of this agent, and how much to the subsequent ventilation and general cleaning up which sani- tary officials very properly insist upon as a supplementary precaution. So far as the cholera germ—comma-bacillus—of Koch is concerned, it seems hardly necessary to resort to fumigations wdth sulphurous acid, except in the case of ships, cellars, etc., where the presence of moisture may serve to preserve the germs; for the develo})ing pcjwer of this organism is quickly destroyed by desiccation and contact with atmospheric oxygen. Koch states that when dried in thin layers these organisms lose their vi- tality within three hours, and he has never succeeded in starting cultures from dried material which had been kept even in thick layers for a period of twenty-four hours. TheMetallic Chlorides possess decided germicide power, but, with the exception oi' mercui'ic chloride, they are in this respect nnich inferior to the hyjiochlorites. The solution of cldoride of zinc of the pharmacopeeia —liquor zinci chloridl—destroys the organisms in bi'oken-down beef-tea Avhen present in the proportion of ten per cent. (Duggan.) According to Koch a five per cent, solution of zinc chloride does not destroy the devel- oping power of anthrax s])oi('s after contact f(^r one inontli. Carbolic Acid, Avhich for a time was regarded as the germicide ^>a/' ' See the wi'itor's papiM- in the Medical News, March 28,1885.. 1](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b20996421_0358.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
