The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1915-08-25
ABOUT PELLAGRA.
Or. Joseph Goldberger interviewed
In Savannah.-To Diet Epworth
Orphans-A Meat and Milk Diet.
Disease Not Infectious. 1920.

OrPhans-A Meat and Milk Diet.
Disease Not Infectious. .
"Seeing is believing" and it is up
on this basis that the United States
bureau of public health mas instituted
a campaign for the absolute eradica-
tion of pellagra at the Epworth Or
phanage in Columbia, S: c., accord
ing to DR.. Joseph Goldberger, head Of
the department of pellagra research.
This work at the orphanage at Co.
lumbia will take the form Of a dem
onstration to those who have tried
for the last eight years to do away
with pellagra at this institution and
have not succeeded. Instead of de-
creasing the number of cases each
year, there yer more at the end Of
the last year than at any other time,
it is asserted. - /,
Naturally" said DR.. Goldberger
in speaking of the cost of this under
taking" it is going to cost the gov
eminent some money, but it shows,
when we agree to furnish part of the
diet necessary for the treatment Of
pellagrins, how thoroughly we are
convinced that the disease is brought
on solely by improper dieting, and
because we are positive that with a
well-balanced diet pellagra can be
absolutely done away with. The work
will be begun about September 1.
Pellagra Not Contagious.
II can not emphasize too strongly
the fact" said MI. Goldberger, "that
pellagra is not communicable. Of
course there r a number of its pha-
ses that have led many to believe
that it was contagious or infectious,
but from our studies covering a great
period of time and carried on under
all conditions, we are certain that
there is nothing of a communicable
nature to pellagra.
"To further clinch the argument
that pellagra can not be com,nunicat-
ed from n person to another take
the results of our experiments upon
the monkeys we have at the hospital.
eve have inoculatsi these mon
Ices ID. Nt. - -a#L # H-
keys with every kind of disease and
they take it rapidly, yet when we
inoculated them with pellagra they
refuse to take it. Smallpox, whoop-
ing cough, measles, in fact almost ev-
cry kind of a disease has been tried
on the monkeys and they have always
been susceptible, but with the pella-
gra there is nothing doing. By the
fact that they do not take pellagra,
while they do take away other dis
eases, it is proven almost conclusive
ly that pellagra it not communica-
ble."
"Own a Cow" Still the Slogan :
Gown a cow" is still the slogan of
the department of pellagra research,
and if the farmers can be educated to
the point where they realize that by
owning a cow, keeping it in good con-
dition, and using the milk derived
therefrom, they are ~lessening the
chances of their getting pellagra be-
cause of their one-sided diet, the de-
partment believes that it will have
done something towards stopping the
ravages of pellagra. Of course milk
alone will not prevent pellagra, but
when the farmer has milk, and eats
meat and eggs instead of selling them
to the city folks, he will never have
pellagra, the experts say.
Government Prescribes Diet
In describing the work to be done
at the Epworth Orphanage at Column
bia, DR.. Goldberger said it would be
nothing more than the feeding of the
$50 inmates of the institution on a
diet prescribed by the bureau of pub
lie health. This diet, which includes
foods of a varied sort and of high
nutritious value, is the one that has
been tried on inmates of other insti-
buttons in the country with the result
that after a time pellagra has been
wiped out entirely.
"Of course" concludes DR.. Gold
berger, "just because a man who has
pellagra decides to eat a rational or
well balanced meal once in a while, is
no sign he is going to get rid of the
disease. The idea is to feed the pa
tient on the diet for a fixed period of
time and let him have nothing but
this diet. Then when the treatment
is over, the patient will be free from
pellagra, but as long as he returns
to the foods that he had been special
izing on previous to his being given