Hankin performed an interesting experiment to test if the antibacterial ‘substance’ in Ganges and Jamuna was volatile in nature. He heated the Ganges and Jamuna water in an open and a hermatically sealed tube (Hankin, 1896 and Hankin 2011- this is the English version of the original French paper translated by gangagen.com). He found that the antibacterial activity was retained when the water was heated in the sealed tube, but was lost in the open tube. Although the exact temperature and the duration of heating is not known, it appears that Hankin might have used a considerable temperature for a long duration that would have killed all biological substances, including bacteriophages, except perhaps bacterial endospores (Abedon et al, 2011).
