The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1908-10-23
TO STUDY PELLAGRA.
Z Conference Of Doctors Will be Held
in Columbia During Fair Week
to Study New Disease.

s2SCOtumDIa, OCT. GU.-At the meet
&ing Of the State board Of health held
Elm Columbia last week the members
0onsidered the advisability Of hold
Eng a conference on pellagara during
Afair week. The decision was left
Mith DR.. G.. f. Williams, secretary.
Msst A Though the time is short. DR..
&gWilliams has decided to invite all
\ of the medical profession,
eSas we'll as others who may be inter-
8fsted in what will hereafter be known
8as the pcllagra problem, to meet in
#s,Eolumbia, Thursday, Oct. 20th.
ol@ The program will include clinic
ESto be held at the State hospital for
insane at 2 p. M, on that date.
eM Following dhis papers on pcllagra
kwill be read and general discussion
t3held. Physicians in other States
E8havc been especially invited. Among
Ethese may be mentioned Surgeon G.
H. Lavindcr, Of the u. S. Public
IIealth and Marine Hospital service:
DR.. John McCampbell, Of the Nor
canton, n c., Hospital for the Tn
sane; DR.. I. NJ. Taylor, Of the Broad
oaks Sanitarium. Morganton n. c.:
= pr. e. j. Wood, Wilmington, N. c.;
y. N. f. Moore, Augusta, Ga: DR..
Fl. Harris. secretary Georgia State
erd Of Health, Atlanta; DR.. G. II.
trey, superintendent Bryce Hospi-
for the Insane, Tuscaloosa, Ala;
Isadore Dyer. dean Medical De-
4Jment Of Tulane University. New
cans. These gentlemen have al
~ shown especial interest in work
Rg out the pcllagra problem, by writ
1siian King papers on the subject.
$} In recent pamphlet issued by the
,&United States Public Health and Ma
t:$Tine hospital service Surgeon G.. II.
RLavindcr says that within recent
Wears there has appeared in our
! Southern States disease. which he
@thinks may be possibly true pcllagra
3aNd he Further remarks that there is
reason for bclirvin" that perhaps this
disease NAV be quite prevalent but
tliiI tEbSlll/t hNllltt' II Is bl II ser
%ious naturc.' he adds "and cpidc-
mic in character. knowledge concern
ing it is becoming Of much import
ancc to the American physician and
more especially to the practitioner in
the Southern Statcs.N
Cases have been reported from
Georgia, Alabama. Texas, South Car
olina and North Carolina. Examina-
. ton of these report, says uDr. LAWN
der, seems to show definitely thai
probably for several years past there
have appeared in the South United
States sporadic casccs Of an unrecog-
mizablc nature, resembling pclla@ra
and that within the last year or two
the disease has increased rapidly in
the number of eases and in the extent
Of territory involved, though in some
{$rcspect the disease seems to differ
Affrom the prllagra of the oll world, ii
%bcars il close resemblance to it. The
eases are mostly acute and the NOR
ktality is high.
+ "If,' says Dr. Imvinder. "the
cause Of pellagra is accepted as a
diet Of spoiled maize, the American
maize crop must within recent years
have undergone Il decided change in
some rcapcct,' for maize has always
been very extensively used as food
an the Southern United States and
pellagra has not appeared in former
years.
'# He properly remarks dhat this con-
Atinues to advancc. There can be no
edoubt THAT such a staple article of
food as Indian corn is in this country
IHsiust not be allowed even to limited
keStcnt to degenerate into Il source Of
FERROUS disease.
awe take it,' says writer in the
lew York Medical Journal. "that
hat ought to be founI out first il
sturc Of the change which may have
z ken place in the grain, which is gen.
|Al thought to be affected by some
gfungus. The department Of agricul-
astuTe, which perhaps has already Civ
ngSattelhion to the matter, may cer-
ttaanly be counted on to conduct what
4!over Investigations may be requ;r-
Vsd,1s
1.-The subject Of pellagra was pre-
sented before tho Alabama Medical
ASociety in 1907 in a brief paper by
<pr. G.. n. Searcy, Of Mount Vernon.