Lethal Action of Potassium Permanganate on Vibrios

Potassium permanganate pills were used by Rogers (1913) in cholera cases to neutralize the toxins of the cholera vibrio, and 'permanganate is commonly used to disinfect clothes, well water and tank water, cholera stools, etc., during an epidemic. Hands also are often washed with permanganate solutions after attending cholera cases. There are various old references to potassium permanganate in dilutions as high as 1 in 500,000 being lethal to the cholera vibrio, but not to other organisms, and therefore the matter needs reinvestigation in the light of our present knowledge. In the present paper are reported the results of. a study of the effect of various dilutions of potassium permanganate on the cholera vibrio and on some other organisms. Standard numbers of organisms were treated for varying times with potassium permanganate in varying dilutions. Permanganate is well known as an oxidizing agent of organic matter. The chemical. is weakened and its colour is discharged in "the presence of an excess of organic matter. Hence to demonstrate thd full effect of the drug, extraneous organic matter was excluded as far