Medicine: Streptococcus Destroyer

An invasion of the blood stream by the germ called Streptococcus haemolyticus may be one of the most dreadful diseases that can befall a human being. The germ, breeding in the blood, destroys the red cells. For lack of red blood cells, the victim of Streptococcus haemolyticus pines, fades. Baffled doctors try blood transfusion after blood transfusion. But almost invariably in fulminating cases the victim dies.

Last week Drs. William Thalhimer & Sidney Older Levinson of Chicago recommended a cure for this disease. In the American Medical Association Journal they pointed out that Streptococcus haemolyticus belongs to the family of germs which cause scarlet fever and erysipelas.

At their command Drs. Thalhimer & Levinson have a supply of serum taken from the blood of Chicagoans recently recovered from scarlet fever. This serum ordinarily is used in the treatment of severe attacks of scarlet fever. Drs. Thalhimer & Levinson injected some into patients dying of Streptococcus haemolyticus infection. Only one out of five thus treated died. If scarlet fever serum is not available, the Chicago doctors recommend transfusion of whole blood from a suitable donor who has recently recovered from scarlet fever.