Let me tell you first of all, about a scientist from Camberley, Surrey - Frederick William Twort, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., F.R.S.. His early researches in bacteriology led to his discovery of the first "vitamin" in 1910, which he named "the essential substance", and in 1915 his discovery of the "bacteriophage", which he had named the "bacteriolytic agent". Both of these discoveries he had made without any funding.
He had already succeeded in isolating the bacterium responsible for the very serious Johne's disease in the intestines of cattle, and had handed over his discovery to the world at large.
After the First World War when he was greatly interested in treating dysentery, hospital physicians in London were consulting him, e.g. from Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children in 1925 on the very same topic.
This handwritten letter dated 1931 was from a doctor `in the know' at St. Thomas's about another bacteriophage treatment:
"My dear Twort, Can you give me any information about Streptococcus viridans bacteriophage? I understand that it is very difficult to obtain, but that it has been used successfully by Love of Philadelphia in Viridans Endocarditis. Apparently it is given intravenously in saline daily.
I should appreciate any information you could give me."
Years later, Twort was marking much of his correspondence in his own handwriting: "This is an open letter". He was particularly keen to point out that those facts about vitamins and bacteriophages should be neither overlooked nor suppressed.
In 1941 he appealed to the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, M.P., F.R.S.,
"... as a fellow member of the greatest Scientific Society in the world to accept this challenge. I submit that my experiences prove conclusively that in the past there have been gross abuses of power to serve the interests of small cliques and to crush the work and genuine criticism of the independent Scientist who strives to uphold truth and honesty with efficiency. This state of affairs must be put right and prevented in the future if this country is to take its rightful place in the forefront of Science".
The acknowledgment letter from a clerk at Number 10 was safely stored in the archive.
In 1945, Professor Twort was reporting to London University and anyone who would pass on the message, that:
"One of the simpler researches I have had in hand concerns the cure of certain intestinal infections such as Colitis, Dysentery, Infantile Diarrhoea etc."
"All evidence points to the fact that it has no harmful effects - confirmed by taking quarts of it myself."
The other medical man I would like to mention - a contemporary of Frederick Twort, is Major-General Philip Mitchiner C.B., C.B.E., T.D., F.R.C.S.. He was also from Surrey - Reigate, a consultant at St Thomas's Hospital, London, and Honorary Surgeon to King George VI. Of course there is plenty of information in the archives but let us just make a note that in 1909, when he was training, our top doctors were being taught that physical methods of disinfection are the most important (physical methods - not chemical, or mechanical). In words of one syllable - that is air, light and heat.
Sunlight (ultraviolet) is bacteriocidal. Philip Mitchiner made a special note of it.
"Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants" is a well-known quote from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis. Perhaps he borrowed it from the medical profession to make a point about openness and transparency. Well, we have the UV technology now to try and put things right in our hospital air conditioning and plastic tubes. Failing that, for the darkest places such as bowels, and deepest places such as hearts, we have bacteriophages - and vitamins.
Now why didn't we think of that before?
References:
- Wellcome Library: GC/176/A5
- Wellcome Library: GC/176/AG.1
- King's College Archives, King's College London: TH/PP Mitchiner 3
- Myra's story
- If you have copyright information regarding the letter on Viridans Endocarditis (1931), please get in touch.
- http://www.amazingphage.info
- Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
The sorry tale of what went wrong with our hospitals
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