Medicine: Cheese Germ

The most important work that the U. S. Bureau of Chemistry accomplished in a year was the discovery of the germ that occasionally makes cheese poisonous,

Director Charles Thorn announced last week. The discovery resulted from the many cases of cramps that citizens of Biddeford, Me., developed two years ago after eating imported cheese. Examination of this cheese showed that it contained myriads of bacteria, of the lactic type, used to “start” milk turning into butter or cheese. Further study revealed an interloper, which resembled the bacteria. Dr. Thorn’s bureau cultured these strange germs in milk and fed the milk to cats. In a few hours the cats were violently ill, as ill as were the folk of Biddeford, with intestinal disturbances. Said Dr. Thorn: “While there is no general danger from this source of poisoning, it does offer another forceful argument for the pasteurization of milk before using it in manufacturing dairy products.”