An Address ON TUBERCLE BACILLI IN COWS' MILK AS A POSSIBLE SOURCE OF TUBERCULOUS DISEASE IN MAN

1901 The Lancet  
268 infective diseases as tetanus, erysipelas, pysemia, and hospital gangrene. This great difference in the records of to-day as compared with those of older and more bloody wars does not depend mainly upon the alteration in the bullet used. That, as we have seen, can do fearful things to a dense obstacle and add to its power for mischief by the laceration caused by bony fragments which it scatters on impact. To some extent the smallness of the canal made by it helps towards recovery. But,
more » ... all, the results are due to the treatment of the wounds by the surgeon and the operation of those great principles which have developed under the splendid genius of Lord Lister. He has made possible the unquestionable triumph of conservative treatment. Honoured as he is throughout the whole world, proud as we all are to claim him as a compatriot, his most enduring memorial will be in the multitudes whom he has been the means of saving from pain and death, and in the direction which he has given to scientific surgery for all time. When the recoveries from wounds in this war are made up and analysed it will be seen what a tremendous progress has been made in protecting the injured from disaster, even in the face of all the difficulties of the battlefield. For, while in the general and stationary hospitals the precautions necessary in modern surgery can be observed, it is, after all, at the initial stage that safety from sepsis is to be secured. " The fate of the wounded rests in the hands of the one who applies the first dressing," wrote Von Nussbaum, and the truth of this assertion has been proved every day. War is at all times full of horrors, but as it is waged to-day it is less terrible than before. In the recent Spanish-American conflict the mortality among the wounded dropped from the 12-96 per cent. of the Civil war to 6 '64-a reduction of nearly one-half-a result in part no doubt due to the smaller bullet employed, but more certainly to the improved methods which have been established in the practice of surgery. Our profession has taken its full share in the work in South Africa, and whether as officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps or as civil surgeons all have worked ceaselessly in ministering to the sick and wounded. They have not flinched in danger on the field and they have vied with their combatant fellows in deeds of valour. Six medical officers have been killed, nine have died from disease, and 12 have been wounded ; three civil surgeons have been killed, 11 have died from disease, and five have been wounded. Of all branches, including orderlies and nurses, nearly 400 medical helpers have fallen victims to their labours. It is a noble record of devotion. We must always glory in it, but so also must we delight to know that the true spirit of patriotism is still with us and that so many of our profession have been ready to show, by rendering up their lives, that A country's a thing men should die for at need."
doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(01)85270-3 fatcat:mtu3nuy4k5bdxefwbjoc3jhg4u