New-York tribune., 1907-04-20
SPOTTED FEVER" TRAIL
MP FLEKNER NEAR GOAL.
Homes He Viii Soon Hare sac
cessfuI AntitOrin.

NJ simon Flexner of the Rockefeller 1nsti-
...e for Medical r R5search. Goth street and the
ros+ River TO trace the virulence of cerebro-
~,,ar meningitis and discover check. has
,,se5 innumerable mice, guinea pigs and rab-
,,+s and. as a last resort. To make his investi-
eations more directly applicable to the human
srs,ies he has put thirty-siX monkeys TO the
80, making the most minIte scientific deduc-
.,o,s from the symptoms shown The monkeys
&c chosen because. as Dr. Flexner says. they
wore nearly approach man in his upright posi-
.,or A practical antitoXin VIII be brought out
ss result Of the research. Il is hoped
The beginning of DR. Flexner's work was after
~. oeref,ro-spinal meningitis epidemic during
,be winter Of 1904 and the spring Of 1900, In
.te neriod Of the epidemic there were about four
.bopsand cases The deaths numbered :,429.
The percentage OF deaths was I3-5. This tre-
r,o75ous fatality caused scientists all over the
rorld 70 take up the subject of finding a rem
.sv and DIR. Flexner in his position as head Of
tbe most fnely equipped research laboratory in
she world. felt impeued to be in the van, DR..
Fgexner wanted To place before the people
cerelro-spinal meningitis antitoxin.
The Health Department went 10 Or. FloXner's
assistance. Or ". II. Park. of the bac1eriologi-
cal department gave Dr. F1eXner all the data
ta reo1!ired The animal stores We're drawn on
for live specimens.
The germ has the remarkable name Of Diplo-
coccus intraceIlularis. Every experiment seemed
% show that its life short Il was also
s,ovn that the germ was 20 he found in the
nose and the pharynN. and hence easily COM
,nunicabe. II was found later. however. that
although the germ in itself. without attention.
might he Of short life. under certain conditions
sts period Of existence was not limited by few
months Cold IS deadly 10 II.
Of iv7p
81 have studied its Ghe germ action upon
mice guinea pigs rabbits and monkeys DIFF
fereu+ strains of the diplococcus were injected
into different regions Of the body To determine
the fatal doses and the pathological effects pro-
duoed In the case of the monkeys the inocula-
tions were made directly into the spinal canal
IN order to reproduce the symptoms and LESSONS
Of cerebro-spinal meningitis in man."
Or FIexner believes that fresh guinea pig
serum can destroy all the germs present with
the important provision that the number shall
not be too great
II was only after other animals had proved
% be unsatisfactory that Or Flexner resorted
20 monkeys Some died in fifteen minutes after
inoculation. others lived for longer periods. All.
however, showed that the germ with which
they were inoculated was Of most deadly
character. AS an example. the following viii
show the careful scrutiny kept by the doctor
and his assistants on the animals under obser-
vation:
Monkey NO. 3-ApriI Is, 8 a. m. hnoculated
By lumbar puncture with two loops suspended
sn salt solution Of ''BingIey'' culture OF the
dlplOooccus from spinal huid: p m, animal
SICK: sits on bottom OF cage; 2 p m, very sick
cnouehes on bottom OF cage. with head de-
pressed; moves slowly on being disturbed. April
l6, a. m, still alive; head down almost 70
level Of the floor; a little later the monkey IS
lying on one side and is passing through a con-
vulsion The convulsiVe seizures follow each
other at short intervals. and are excited by sud
den noise or by contact; 3 p. m, commissions
still occurring; lumbar puncture yields a small
quantity Of bloody fluid, which miCroscopicaI
examination shows many polynuclear leucocytes
containing typical diplococci; 10 p. m, convul-
EiOns continue. Animal died during the night;
probably survived about forty-three hours.
The presence. OF nasal infection caused the
gravest concern. II the disease could be COM
municated in that way the knowledge was Of
the greatest Importance
The serum that may be used rs an antitoxIn
Is near the point OF completion. Should another
epidemic occur Il is believed that the researches
OF Dr. Flexner viii assist the medical profession
10 most decided degree in taking care OF it
and preventing the usual large percentage of
mortality
"A doctor who is something Of an anti-vivl-
seCtionist said last night that no animal wheth-
VI N'oSS oT monkey could possibly ieao 10 Tlgnt
results in experimentation Each was different
nom man. The monkey walked upright but
he monkey was not dissiDated creature. He
oid not drink. hif rn6iticn was normal. Ex-
per1ments on the n.1Iley could show only what
normal man might suffer under the same con-
duons. Man was not normal. said the doctor.
But he ended by saying that Il would not be
long before some foreign scientific men would
acknowledge that DR.. F1exner was fully abreast
OF The best WORK done I'm Europe. and also. that
he was if anything. just little ahead of the
foreign procession