Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-10-15
Possible Discovery of InfantiIe
Paralysis Germ.
DISSEMINATED BY INSECTS
Announced by University of Penn
sylvania Professor.
PROTOCOL IN BLOOD ISOLATED
Treatment May Be Evolved That
Will Successfully. Combat
the Disease.

PHILADELPHIA, October 15.-An an
nouncement of the discovery of. what is
thought to be the specific germ that
causes infantile paralysis was made last
night at a special meeting of the College
Of Physicians. called to discuss this i'm
portant subject. Coupled with this an
nouncement was the statement that the
discovery may evolve a treatment that
will successfully combat the disease
DR.. Allen ]. Smith. dean of the medical
school and director of the school of tropi-
cal medicine of the University of Penn
sylvania, announced that in the blood of
some of the cases of infantile paralysis
examined in the laboratories of the state
department of health small protocol, a
low form of animal life, were found
scattered among the red corpuscles.
Probably Transmitted by Insects.
They were only found in the blood Of
patients suffering from this disease, he
said. and resemble the germ that causes
sleeping sickness. He further said that
mis- Investigations led him to believe that
the germ causing the disease is proba bly,
transmitted by insects. and that the dis
ease might be eliminated in the same
manner as typhoid fever and malaria have
been checked.
His statements were corroborated by no
less an authority than DIR. Charles X.
Mills, professor of neurology at the uni
versity, who stated that he believed in
fantile paralysis was Of protozoic origin,
an insect-carrier disease, and not one Of
bacterial origin such as tuberculosis and
diphtheria
The meeting was attended by a large
number of the leading physicians of this
city, and they listened very carefully to
DR.. Smith as he explained his theory,
many taking notes Of his lecture.
Germs in the Blood.
DR.. Smith told of examinations of the
various organs of those who died from
this disease. While many authorities
have stated that infantile paralysis had
certain characteristics of rabies, DR..
Smith said that, on examination of the
brain, he was unable to find any of the
| negri bodies usually found in sufferers
from ra bes.
He then went on to say that scattered
through the blood of some of these cases
small germs belonging to the animal,
rather than the vegetable, kingdom were
found. He made chart on the black
board, drawing in the cOrpuscles and the
newly discovered PROTOCOL. Because no
one else has found them in the blood, DR..
Smith said that he was not absolutely
certain yet that they were the germ that
similarity to the germ of sleeping sick
ness.
Clinical Signs Of the Disease.
DR.. Mills spoke of the clinical signs of
the disease. He has examined large
number of cases, both in this city and
| throughout the Lehigh valley, where in,
fantile paralysis has been epidemic this
summer. He said that the paralysis
seems to follow fever and that the peri
cd of incubation was from one to three
weeks. most commonly two weeks. how
ever. He found more cases of paralysis
of the upper extremities rather than the
| legs. but offered no explanation of this
condition.
DR.. Joseph S. Neff, director of the de-
partment Of public health and charities,
| presented a paper discussing an exhaust
| i've study of the cases of infantile paraly-
sis occurring in Philadelphia this last
summer.
He pointed out the fact that most of
| the children seemed to be paralyzed in
their upper limbs. a condition, he said,
which has been noticed only in this city.
Isolation Of Cases.
| In speaking of whether it was right
to isolate all the cases and to exclude
from the schools the family of sufferer,
DR.. Neff said he thought such a proceed
ure too severe. and did not intend to in
augurate it this year unless the disease
| became more epidemic.
| Dr. b. Franklin Rogers paper was
| largely statistical and showed that q
| total of go cases of infantile paralysis
have been reported during the present
epidemic Males showed a greater tend
ency to contract the disease than fe-
males. Investigation indicated that the
disease is not badly contagious, and in
comparatively few households did more
| than one member contract 1t.