New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-03-18
CLOSER WATCH ON
SHIPS FROM GREECE
Country in Clutches of Cerebro-
Spinal Meningitis. Health
Officer Learns.
FULL DETAILS SUPPRESSED
Mortality Large, 1t Is Believed
Athens Reporting Fifty
five Deaths in Nine
teen Days.

According TO private advices yester-
day from Athens. the Grecian capital
and nearby towns are in the clutches OF
a bad epidemic of cerebro- spinal menin-
gifts. This news, which has been the
first report from the infected city to af-
ford details. was sent to DR.. Doty last
night by The Tribune. and ii is thought
that an absolute quarantine will be de-
clared against steamships bringing pas
sengers from the ports of Greece.
While the Health officer has been
keeping a close watch on all steamships
coming from Greece, especially the pas
senger vessels of the Greek lines which
from the Pir@us, he will draw the lines
even tighter hereafter on all steamships
| from the Mediterranean in the hope OF
getting Greek passengers who may have
boarded the liners at ports outside of
| Greece
According to the information commu-
nicated last night to the Health Officer,
the epidemic has spread with such
alarming rapidity in Athens that the
! public schools have been closed and the
sanitary authorities are making a des-
perate effort to fight the disease with
methods that are not exactly modern.
Officials Losing Control.
The disease, 1t is feared. is getting
away from the control of the health Of
ficials. notwithstanding the fact that the
pa tients are isolated in hospitals and
! Iimprovised detention houses. Many of
the provinces have become infected. and
the disease has even jumped to the ISL
ands
Buildings from which patients have
been removed and houses adjoining
them have been frequently disinfected.
All public places have undergone sim
liar treatment. and even the trolley cars
and all public Conveyances in the city
Of Athens have been submitted to disin-
fection from day TO day
The exceptionally cold weather that
has gripped the country throughout the
winter has helped greatly in the spread
Of the epidemic The general conditions
of weather and sanitation have been
conducive to the rapid propagation at
the. disease The advices from Athens
sav. moreover. that uncleanly habits and
customs Of the inhabitants Of the in
fected towns are potent factors in the
distribution of the plague.
The number of deaths from cerebro-
spinal meningitis in the various PROV
inces If is said have been carefully min
imized. and in many instances entirely
withheld The same scrutiny has been
observed i'm dealing with the numbers
of persons stricken. As death usually
/ follows within forty-eight hours after
the first symptoms appear, ii is gen
erallv believed that the mortality IN
Greece has been enormous.
Mortality in Athens.
The health officials OF Athens have ad-
mitted that there have been hfty-hrc
deaths from cerehro- spinal meningitis in
/ Athens alone from February ] TO Feb
r,arv 10. All classes have been hit by
tho endemic. but il is more prevalent IN
schools rarrisons and communities
u.bore many persons are huddled TO-
/ gether.
! .1'his report from Athens. said Dr
! Dotv. 'is the first detailed informa iioh We
have received thus far concerning 'he
! mo cnitudc of cerebro- spinal meningitis
in Greece. ! have suspected tha' such d
condition had existed there. and TINS
| Information bears ont the hypothesis |
! EXPRESSED when the Patras and the Mar
tha Washington came in here. win nine
victims of the disease
.T shall report at once 10 Surgeon Cen
cral Wyman. in Washington and we viii
bc able. 10 doubt. in a short time To find
r,uch that is new in the transmission Of
the disease and its suppression. II was
our assumption when we first found the
meningitis patients on the two steam
ehips that the disease had been trans
mttcd in unsanitary communities, and
that the infection Of the steerage passen-
Gers had occurred in Greece, before they
sailed for New York.
| Something will be done, hope, on TINS
| ,ide of the Atlantic" he continued. TO
, holm the Greeks in stamping out the
disease. The formula of Dr. FleXner
/ effective serum is known To the medi-
cal world and could be made right there
in Athens 1t is q remarkably fine treat
mont and would he the most effective
r,aane the Greek doctors could use in
,tamping out the epidemic The serum
is made here by the Board of HeaIth
and | know that DR.. flexner ana the
local health officials of New York would
Inc clad To send the serum or It's method
NJ making to the health officials or
/ Greece.
The morality from cercbro- spinal
meningitis is noediessly great. Deati
comes soon after patient is stricken
If not scientifically treated. In The race
If these facts the efficacy Of Or. f1ex-
rer's serum stands out in splendid con-
,,ae, Th, nine cases brought here on
,ho patras and the Martha Washington
are doing splcndidly under the FleXner
treatment. 1t is safe to LAY that they
! youId probably have died were II not
| for the serum.
"The five patients from the Patras
have had four treatments and the four
from the Martha Washington have had
tlree. The former arrived mere on gun
day last. and the latter group on M""-
day. They had been i'll from the disease
hoforo tho steamers reached port, and
considering the fact that thoy were uh-
able 20 get immediate treatment OF
loard sniu the effectiveness Of the fleX-
l.. ,.o,.,,,g thonn alive is III,