Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-06-01
LOAN SOCIETY.
MEASLES AND MICE.
Ingenious Theory of the Dissemina-
ton of the Disease.
From the Medical Record.

From the Medical Record
In paper read before the Washington
Cd. c. Medical Society by A F. y. King
OF that city, the suggestion.i made that
the mlcrobe OF measles may be conveyed
oN the mouse. The paper was published
III the Washington Medical Annals for
March. The theory is ingenious. and has
been limited at before, but at one time.
ana not SO long ago, il would have been
received with complete increduity and
probably with considerable amount OF
scorn. OF late wears. however. the role
OF ANIMALS and insects In the diSSeuina-
ton of disease has been so conclusively
demonstrated that he would be a bold and
lll-adNlSed man who Scoffed at any SuG
sestion. wild as il might seem. which en-
deaVored to trace a connection between an
animal and Infection. Moreover il should
not be forgotten that DR.. King was q
pioneer OF the theory that there might he
a casual relation between mosquitoes and
malaria. After all, there is nothing inner
emily improbable in the idea that mice
may be the means CT conveying measles
to the human subject. and il will he in
teresting to discuss briefly DR.. Kings ar
Suments in support of the theory. NJ
merouS eases are record in which
measles appears To have originated from
contact with straw. According to DR..
King, during our civil war ii was gen
both armies contracted measles by sleep
ing upon straw. In ls62 DR. j. II. Sails
bury OF Newark. Ohio, obtained from
wheat straw spores Of fungi which when
introduced into the body produced dis
ease which appeared to be identical with
measles and which conferred immunity
upon those who had been inoculated
with these spores. True, Salisbury's con-
illusions seem TO have been discredited
by subsequent investigations. but if the
mouse be admitted as an Geological fac
tor in producing measles the conflicting
results of Salisbury and his opponents
may possibly be reconciled. for, as DIR.
King points out, one may have been ex-
perimentine with straw containing mouse
infection and the others with straw in
which the mouse factor was absent. Is
there any coincidence between an in
creased prevalence of measles and mouse
plaques? DR.. King attempts to answer
this question in the affirmative and to
show that during the three most notable
mouse plaques of recent times measles
was also prevalent in one of the locali-
ties at the same time. The scenes Of
the Superabundance OF mice were, re-
spectively, Scotland. Thessaly and Rus
STA during the years from 1892 to 1850.
In Scotland i'm 1893. when the mouse
plague had reached its acme, the mum
Der of deaths recorded from measles
was greater than for any previous year
for which record was kept. The author
adduces other evidence presumably I'm
favor of the theory, and. while confess
ing that this is for the most part only
probable or presumptive, explains how
positive evidence might be obtained by
experiment. If it IS admitted that mouse
excreta are the original source of mea-
sles it is easy to conceive that these ex-
creta. when dried by the warmth or
houses, crushed by passing feet upon
the floor and dispersed by housemaids'
brooms into the air, can readily come In
contact with the respiratory and other
tH.a
confessed. the case against the mouse as
the originator transmitter of measles
is not very strong, but the matter is
worthy of further investigation.