Doings in the Path. Lab.

Spring 1916

By Pte. H. J. Gilby

It may be of interest to some of the Gazette readers to know a little of what goes on in that mysterious low building near the chapel. This quaint-looking place, known to some as the Pathological Laboratory, to others as the Wizard's Den, and to the vulgar as the Abode of Bugs - bug being the familiar misnomer for bacteria - is indeed a hive of industry. During the last eleven months 3,485 specimens have been examined here for pathogenic organisms. One may marvel how so much work can be crowded into such a small place, but from 6.30 a.m. until 8, 9 or 10 p.m. passers-by can see the B's (the buggists) busy in their hive. It is most interesting to notice how various people enter our abode. One fair orderlette brought a specimen in, dropped it on the table, and rushed out. Another took a good look round before entering, expecting, doubtless, to see bacilli crawling up the walls, or dropping from the ceiling upon intruders. (Don't be alarmed, readers; all our 'bugs' are properly trained, and not one dares to come out uninvited). Then we have the people who 'know something' about the work; they are the very curious and always expect to see streptococci - an old favourite - to order. Mr. Editor, many a poor harmless 'bug' has been designated 'strep' to suit the requirements of the knowing ones.

Let me give you an insight into the method adopted during a day's work. At 6.30 the attendants appear, and make all presentable before the officers arrive. After breakfast specimens begin to arrive; twenty-five typhoid and twenty dysentery patients have probably been warned overnight to report at the Lab. at 9 a.m. They arrive in fear and trepidation, bringing with them their own specimens. "This way please," says a cheery voice, and in rotation they present themselves before human vampires (No! not descendants of Dracula), who take a specimen of blood from each. A saline emulsion is made from the specimen, and plated by spreading three or four drops by means of sterile glass rods upon specially prepared media contained in large glass double plates. These are then incubated for twenty-four hours, at a temperature equivalent to that of the human body. Numerous red and grey spots can then be seen on the surface of the media. The spots are in reality colonies of bacilli, containing millions of micro-organisms, for it must be borne in mind that the rate of reproduction of bacteria is enormous. Under favourable circumstances - e.g., with a suitable food supply, temperature, etc. - certain bacteria divide (their method of reproduction) on an average about once in twenty or thirty minutes, so that, if there were no factors to delay or prevent such a multiplication, a single organism would give rise, in the course of some ten hours, to a progeny of a couple of millions. (Try and work this out for yourselves).

To continue, suspicious-looking colonies are taken from the plates by means of sterile platinum wire and smeared upon agar medium in test tubes. This medium contains Lemco, and is therefore greatly appreciated by the bugs, which rapidly grow. Litmus sugar peptones are then inoculated from the agar cultures, and according to results obtained a report is given. It is evident that at least three days must elapse before a definite report can be made, so my impatient typhoid and dysentery convalescents please note. Again each patient must have four negative reports [vide Army Council Instruction No.48, January 1916], and as there are at present many convalescents from those diseases in the hospital it is obvious that workers in the Lab. will not be idle for some time to come, and weekend passes will be considerably below par.

To resume, specimens of sputum are stained on glass slides and examined microscopically for tuberculosis bacilli. A single sputum takes at least a quarter of an hour to stain, etc. Pus is cultivated by inoculating four different media; in two tubes, known as aerobes, the bugs grow in contact with the air; in two others, nominated anaerobes, the medium is specially closed from the air by pouring melted vaseline upon it (this is to satisfy the requirements of fastidious 'bugs'). The bacteria thus so carefully nurtured are stained and examined microscopically. There will probably be a mixed lot of bugs, and the next stage is to isolate those required. This involves replating and resubbing until at length a pure culture is obtained. The latter is scraped into a saline solution and sterilised for an hour. Its sterility is tested, and the emulsion standardised and used as a vaccine. Thus the disease becomes father to the remedy, strange irony of fate! It may be interesting to know that the mixed vaccine with which willing (?) individuals are now inoculated contains 2,000,000,000 bacilli per cubic centimetre, and he or she receives 1,000,000,000 in the first dose and 2,000,000,000 in the second dose. (Any more applicants please?)

Of course, such huge families require suitable nourishment, and another branch of our work consists of making appetising viands for them. It is with great suspicion we are welcomed at the Steward's Stores when we go for four eggs and a tin of Lemco. I believe they imagine the Lab. department faring off soup and poached eggs occasionally, but I can regretfully assure them that such is not the case. At the time of writing, we have over 1,6000 test tubes in use containing media. Each week approximately five hundred sugar peptones are 'tubed up.' One may wonder whatever becomes of the enormous multitude of 'bugs' which we appear to cultivate so assiduously; ultimately they ignominiously perish, by being placed for over an hour in superheated steam at a temperature of 115 degrees Centigrade.
I have only dealt with a part of our work, but am afraid I have encroached on too much space, so will leave other items for consideration in the future. This article will suffice if it shows that, although not in the limelight, valuable work is being performed in that strange place, the Path. Lab.