New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1911-07-12
the PARALY SIS
GERM IS FOUND
Scientists Nov Trying to Isolate
the Deadly Growth.
RESULTS OF NUMEROUS TESTS
Microscopic Examination Of the Blood
Of Monkeys and Humans Reveals an
Organism Not Found In the Blood
Of Healthy Persons or Animals-Dr.
0ixon's Discovery.

OF Healthy Persons or AnimaIs-Or.
Dixon's Discovery.
Samuel Dixon. secretary Of the Penn.
sylvania board of health. explains in
detail what is believed to be the dis.
covery Of the micro-organism which
causes infantile paralysis. DR.. Dixon
does not definitely assert that he has
found the germ. but he has found an
organism in the blood of persons and
animals which are afflicted with the
disease and the organism does not ap.
pear in the blood Of normal persons OF
animals and it Is not described in any
of the treatises of germs.
Infantile paralysis has been epidemic
for two years. Scientists are working
hard to Isolate the germ which causes
the disease and to work out treat.
ment to prevent or cure it. Thus far
no cure has been discovered and the
germ has not been entirely isolated.
The discovery Of DR.. Dixon is great
advance, and it may lead to the dis.
covery of the cause and treatment
for the disease
Found a New Organism.
DR.. Dixon says:
I'm examining the blood from acute
cases Of poliomyelitis dnfantile paral-
ysis) in human beings and also in mon
keys. in which the disease was pro.
duced experimentally. an organism was
found, different in morphologic charac.
ter from any heretofore described,
which may or may not on further in
vestigation prove to be the Geological
factor in the causation Of the disease.
Blood smears being fixed in methyl.
alcohol for one minute and stained
with carbol-thioin, the organism ap.
pears as a family stained blue rod.
with regular cell wall about ten mi
crons long and about eight-tenths of
micron in width, curved at an angle Of
sixty to seventy-fve degrees at one end,
occasionally at both ends. At times the
curved end is dubious. Some of the
organisms appear to have very finely
application is employed"
None Found In Healthy Blood.
DR.. Dixon describes the microscopes
which gave the best results In the ex-
animation. Continuing. he says:
''The bloods examined were from
ten different cases of acute poliomye-
litis in children and were taken dur
ing the epidemic Of last summer and
from thirteen cases Of the disease in
the acute stage which had been pro-
duced experimentally in as many
"Blood smears from three normal
human beings were carefully exam
ined. and. although the search for
these organisms was diligently made,
none was found. Smears We're made
from the blood of thirteen normal
with negative results. After
incubation with the virus these same
give positive results.
"Smears from the cords and brains
of paralyzed monkeys and from one
human case were examined. but none
Of the organisms was found. Deibri-
mated blood three weeks to two
months old from two paralyzed mon
keys showed the forms in increased
Cultures made from the
blood of a paralyzed monkey in va
rious forms. examined after being in
three weeks. showed the pres
ence of the organism in increased
numbers. Success in isolating the or
yanisms has not attended our efforts !
as yet"