The Washington herald., 1911-09-25
PELLAGRA MAKES
= RAPID HEADWAY
In THE SOUTH
Annual Increase of 100 Per
Cent Is Noted.
MORE MONEY IS REQUIRED

| anu ulSOFSdnlZed nSht Dy the medical
fraternity and the public health service,
pellagra is increasing annually more than
| 100 per cent. There are more than 10 800
cases in the eleven Southern States alone
| this summer. as opposed to about 1000
in thirteen States two years ago.
Believing that the disease with its
| rapid spread has long since passed the
point where it became a serious menace
TO the public health, the Public Health
and Marine Hospital Service has been
| Offering the only concerted study of and
! fight against the disease. and will ask
an appropriation of $4,000 from the next
Congress to be useG in fighting the
malady
The annual report of Surg. Gen.
| Wyman. Of the Public Health and
Marine Hospital Service. which will be
sent to the printer shortly, will present
the situation in such light as to call
for its serious consideration. At present,
all money expended in fighting the dis
ease must be drawn from the appropria-
ton for the service in the sundry civil
bill.
The hands of the service, therefore,
are practically tied, and the medical
literature Of the country contains prac-
tically nothing about pellagra, which
was discovered in this country only as
far back as 1906. The country is left
practically helpless by the helplessness
of the service. The service already has
given over one hospital and the services
of two officials entirely to the observa-
ton and care of pellagra cases. The
hospital It Savannah, Ga, is given over
entirely to the care of pellagra patients,
in charge of DR.. c. H. Lavinder, while
DR.. r. H. Grim spends all his time in
the field investigating and passing upon
applications for admission to the hos
pital. In addition. the service has sent
out from time to time such literature
as it has been able 10 collect the data
for and prepare. These few bulletins of
the service are practically all the medi-
cal profession in this country have TO
rely upon.
About 10000 New Cases.
The eleven Southern States where
the ravages of the disease are fiercest,
and where there are approximately 1O,3O0
new cases this year, are Virginia,
Georgia, North Carolina. South Carolina,
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee,
Louisiana. Texas, and Kentucky. 1t is
reported that in one North Carolina vii
lage. where there are less than 5000 in
habitants, 200 cases of pellagra have
sprung up this summer, and one North
Carolina physician has estimated for the
public health service that there have
been $1,000 pellagra cases in his State
alone since the disease was discovered
there six years ago.
Few Northern States have been should
cred with any prevalence Of the disease,
rph nfg Hos ,fgl,r
the most interesting subjects of study
and has a greater number of cases than
any ether Northern State. New York
has had few cases and the District OF
Columbia has had several, though most
of those discovered in the District could
be traced directly TO some point farther
south. In all, the disease has been re-
ported from thirty-one States, though the
problem has never become serious ex-
cept in the South, aud, possibly, in I'LL
nois.
Found in California.
a number Of State authorities have
paigns to reduce the danger OF the spread
of the disease. California, although the
disease has not been at all prevalent
there, has gone so far as to make 1t a
quarantinable disease, requiring reports
noted or treated
The malady is not believed, however
to be either contagious or infectious, and
for that reason it is probably harder to
make headway than If the infected dis
triCt could be cut off, and the spread
of the disease curbed.
AS a matter of fact, little progress
has been made by the. medical profess
sion in determining upon the cause OF
the disease or in perfecting a cure for 1t.
Do what they may. doctors are unable
to prevent the high rate of mortality
in the sections where the disease is
prevalent This mortality is estimated
at between 30 and 70 per cent of the total
number of CaSeS-a much higher rate
than in Italy, where pellagra is sup
posed to have originated. About 20 per
cent of the cases reach the insanity
stage, filling the hospitals and asylums
of the South with loathsome form Of
mental disorder. Dr. Lavinder, now in
charge of the Savannah hospital. was
sent to Italy last year by the service
to study the disease there. He met in
vestigators there from England, for the
malady is presenting n serious problem
to Great Britain also
In Italy a national law for the euro
and prevention of pellagra is enforced.
This law is based entirely upon the
eating spoiled corn, theory which has
been generally accepted in this country.
However, two or more hypothesis nave
recently gained some credence. and, II
finally adopted, will present the case in
a stil more serious aspect.
New Theories of Cause.
One of the new theories goes on the
assumption that the disease is brought
by the sting of the sand fly. The other
assumes the malady to be brought into
the human system by water-borne trema-
todes, an Italian blood-infecting insect.
These theories have attracted wide at
tention in Italy and are now being care
fully investigated. In this country the
fight is still being made on the assump-
ton that spoiled corn is the principle
agent in the spread Of the disease. The
corn theory puts a more serious face
on the problem when II is explained that
by corn IS meant chiefly the various
products, such as hominy and meal,
form by which the diseased or spoiled
corn can be disguised by unscrupulous
millers and manufacturers. As these
foods form the principal subsistence for
thousands throughout the South, the re-
suit is obvious.
Like cholera, pellagra is stopped by
cold weather. Frost, followed by warm
weather. has no appreciable effect,
permanent drop In the temperature be-
ing necessary. Those cases which are
I,tz bxr