Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1915-11-15
INCREASE OF PELLAGRA.

the Treasury Department in Wash
ington, as the result of continued re-
search and experiments of the public
health service, that both the cause and
cure of pellagra have been discovered,
and that the spread of this dread dis
ease, which has been increasing in the
United States at terrific rate during
the past few years, may now be check
ed and eventually eradicated, Assist
ant Secretary Newton, in charge ofl
the public health service, expressed
great interest in the discovery, and re-
CARDS it as one of the most important
achievements of medical science in re-
cent years.
Pellagra has been increasing alarm
ingly throughout the United States
during the last eight years, and it is
estimated that $4,000 cases of the dis
ease will have occurred in the United
States in 1915, and of this number at
least 1900 will have died before the
end of the year. In many sections on
" tuberculosis and pneumonia ex-
coed it as a cause of death.
The final epoch-making experiment
OF the public health service was car
ried out at the farm of the Mississippi
state penitentiary, about eight miles
east of Jackson, Miss, and together
with the previous work of the service
completes the chain in the prevention
and cure of the disease. The work at
the Mississippi farm has been ia
charge of Surgeon Joseph Goldberger
and assistant Surgeon G. A. Wheeler,
of the United States public health SER
vice. The farm consists of 5000 acres
in the center of which is the convict
camp. The final experiment was I'M
Gertaken for the purpose of testing the
possibility of producing pellagra in
healthy human white adult males by a
restricted, one-sided, mainly carbo-
hydrate (cereaD diet. Of eleven con-
yicts who volunteered for this ex-
pertinent, six developed typical der
mathis and mild nervous gastro-intes
final symptoms.
Experts, including DR.. E. H. Gallo
way, the secretary of the Mississippi
State Board of Health, Dr. Nolan Stew
art, formerly superintendent of the
Mississippi State Hospital for the In
sane, at Jackson; DR.. Marcus Hause
professor of dermatology in the Wash
ington Medical school, St Louis, Mo-
declare that the disease which was
produced was true pellagra.
Prior to the commencement of these
experiments no history could be found
Of the occurrence of pellagra on the
! penitentiary farm On this farm are
Is or so convicts. Governor Eearl
Brewer offered to pardon twelve of the
convicts who would volunteer for the
experiment. They were assured that
they would receive proper care
throughout the experiment and treat
ment, should it be necessary The
diet given was bountiful, and more
tban sufficient to sustain life 1t diff
fered from that given the other con-
victs merely in the absence of meats,
milk, eggs, beans, peas and similar
proteid foods. In every other partic-
uiar the convicts selected for the eX-
pertinent were treated exactly as were
the remaining convicts. They had the
same routine work and discipline the
same periods of recreation and the
same water to drink. Their quarters
were better than those of the other
convicts. The diet given them consist
e1 of biscuits, fried mush, grits and
brown gravy, syrup, cornbread, cab
bage, sweet potatoes, rice, collards AMI
coffee wit hsugar All components o.
the dietary were of the best quality
and were properly cooked. AS a pre-
liminary, and to determine if the con-
victs were afflicted with any other dis
ease, they were kept under observation
from February 4th to April 9th, two
and a half months, on which date the