Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-03-30
FIGHTING new DISEASE
Government Investigation of
PeIegra Taken Up.
TO MAKE STUDY OF ORIGIN
Three Departments to Cooperate in
the Work.
MANY CASES IN THE SOUTH
Surgeon Lavinder to Have Charge of
Special Inquiry, Both Here
and in Europe.
TO MAKE STUDY OF ORIGIN
lANY CASES IN THE SOUTH

The public health and marine hospital
service at the last meeting of the advisory
committee on the work of the hygenic
laboratory on Saturday decided to go Wig
orously after the: new disease pelegra in
the south. and will detail one man ex-
clusivcly on the work in the hope of get
ting valuable data that will be Of use to
the whole country.
Pelegra is a comparatively new disease
here. but has been known abroad for
many years. 1t is particularly at home in
parts of Italy. Austria and the Balkans.
1t partakes of the nature of a skin dis
ease and insanity combined. and the gen.
orally accepted theory abroad is that it
comes from the eating of bad maize.
Since the first investigation here 1t does
not appear absolutely certain that maize
either good or bad. has TO do with the
disease The European theory is thought
good enough as a working basis to start
with, but by the time this government
gets through with the subject it will
know to a certainty where the trouble
lies.
Disease a Seasonal One.
Passed Assistant Surgeon Lavinder has
been put on the work in the south, and
attended the meeting of the advisory COM
mittee at the close of last week. He ex-
planned that the disease was a seasonal
one. and that its outbreak i'm Italy and
Austria was just now about at It's worst.
1t was a little too late this year to go
abroad and study the disease, but 1t would
be possible to make a thorough study OF
it in the southern states. and armed with
this data to go abroad and make a COM
parative study of the disease in Europe
next year.
Surg. Gen. Wyman said that in the
meantime the bureau of plant industry
OF the Department of Agriculture was
diseases, and that DR.. B. T. Galloway,
chief of that bureau, would be I'm po-
sition to cooperate with the hygienic
laboratory when they were ready to
make a laboratory study of the sick
ness.
Surg. Lavinder has already written
monograph on the disease that was pre-
scented to the advisory committee. and
that body decided that 1t would be best
to keep him on the work and give him
all the help and facilities that might be
necessary in prosecuting his investiga-
ton. He will accordingly be brought to
the hygienic laboratory here and given a
thorough course of training in labora
tory and microscopic work, and will go
into the field equipped to gather speci
mems for further study.
All Branches to Aid.
Col. McCaw, representing the army on
the advisory board, promised TO collect
all the literature on the subject and turn
it over TO the marine hospital service.
Thus the various branches Of the gov
ernment will aid in the work.
There have been about 1000 cases Of
pelegra identified in the south. though
there is q much larger percentage Of the
population affected abroad. But the dis
ease is much more virulent here, and
the outcome b more speedily fatal while
abroad 1t is apt to run into chronic
form and reappear from season to sea-
IN