The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-06-29


DR.. Claude A. Smith of Atlanta, lee
tured in the Chamber of Commerce
last night to an audience of perhaps
100 people on the hook worm, follow
ing the entry of the pernicious little
animal into the human system. its
destructive progress and its final
death by old age.
His lecture was a simple statement
of scientific facts, a story of the dis
covery of the hook worm, of its effect
on the human system and the way to
prevent its spread. He appealed to
the press of the land, referring to 1t
as the most powerful of agents for
good without which little can be done,
to inform the public not once but
often that the way to prevent the
hook worm from entering the human
system is to keep barefooted children
and grownups from going out In the
grass and mud directly after a rain
and in the wet dewey grass in the
morning.
The Symptoms.
He described the effect of the hook
worm on the human system in a
graphic manner, the symptoms and
effects being as follows:
First-There is an itching and the
flesh becomes red.
Second-The victim of the hook
worm which has entered skin begins
to show languor which increases.
Third-The victim in the extreme
cases becomes weak, can run or walk
but short distance, the red blood
corpuscles are consumed and wasted
and the patient although struggling
against the disease is slowly becom-
ing weaker.
One of the DISCOVERIES.
DR.. Smith claims the honor of being
the third to discover the look worm
but says that when he discovered it
he thought he was the first as he did
not know of the other discoverers
He described the damp, warm elm
ate of Florida as the most favorable
climate for the propagation of the
germs and said that there was prob,
ably as many cases in this state as In
any other state in the union.
He described experiments to deter
mine how the worms get into the hui,
man system, of how dogs and guinea
pigs were given worms internally but
with little success and how finally
they were placed next the skin in
moist earth and how they finally en-.
tered the skin. The hook worm must
have a thin coating of water to cross
from the earth on to the skin, colo
and perfectly dry conditions are enc
mics to the hook worm.
The disease is one of the country
city boys are little subject to it I'm.
less they visit the country, come
home with the ground itch or wade
about in pools after a rain in the
outskirts of the city.
Many of the cases formerly SUP.
posed to be conditions Of malaria In
the system have been found to be the
hook worm doing its deadly work
The stamping out of the hook worm
is difficult from the fact that those
WHO have it will not admit it and
seldom want to submit to any sort OF
treatment. The best way to eradicate
the disease is to prevent it as it will
wear out in the system and be out.
grown in about eight years if no more
are taken in.
Speaking of the effect of the hook
worm on the human race DR.. Smith
said:
The Effect.
Consumption, as all know, is prob.
ably the most fatal of diseases. but
the hook worm is more common in
the south than tuberculosis. There
are really few deaths directly from
the hook worm, but it entails the loss
of millions of dollars each year by
the loss of energy experienced by the
people, let alone the suffering il
causes. 1t is a pitiful sight to see an
advanced case of the hook worm Inc
child or grownup is frequently con
sidered simply lazy. Such is not the
fact. The patient in many instances
is full of ambition and energy, but he
has not the physical power to do the
things he wishes to do. He strives
to do greater things, but this unknown
thing drawing him back destroys his
usefulness. He simply has not tbs
power to do when he is the victim OF
the hook worm and is a good subject
for it to work upon"
The description Of DR.. Smith of his
discovery of the hook worm and of his
subsequent discoveries during a pc
riod of nine years was intensely inter
esting. When he first beheld a hook
worm he was doing Pasteur work
or making Investigations along thai
line and necessarily was working up
on dogs. 4 friend had several splen
did hounds suffering from some un
known disease. He finally agreed te
study their case The dogs died ana
in holding a post-mortem over them
he discovered the hook worm. He
continued to study it and started Out