New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-08-26

opportunity LOT contact ln1eCtlOn.
Trace Cause Of Epidemic.
INSTEAD, all epidemics of spinal
paralysis have disappeared when cold
weather came in spite Of school at
tendance. This disease appears but in
epidemics during summer, when flies
abound, which alone can infect an ex-
posed supply OF some food consumed
in raw state. namely, fruit. There
fore. all fruit in Brooklyn, New York
and the neighborhood must by now be
infected, and all flies in the same
locality must be considered as harbor-
ing the germ of acute spinal paralysis
until cold weather kills them off,"
The theory held by many of the
scientists now fighting the disease,
that 1t is spread by personal contact. is
met by DR.. Seibert with the argument
that all epidemics caused by infected
food water, milk and solids) entering
the stomach and intestines. such as in
fantile diarrh9a, dysentary and ty-
phoid fever, occur during summer,
while all infections of the nose, throat
and lung. such as influenza. tonsillitis
and diphtheria, become more and more
prevalent during winter and spring,
until warm weather appears, because
personal contact is closer during cold
than during warm weather. The fact
that all epidemics of spinal paralysis
prevailed during summer and dis
appeared when cold weather came, DR..
Seibert declares, points to the probable
ity of food infection by mouth and in
testine rather than the possibility of
contact infection by nose and mouth.
Furthermore" he says, "if contact
between persons caused these cpl
denies, the frequency of acute spinal
paralysis would increase steadily from
the time the schools open in the fall
until they close in May and June. But,
instead, all epidemics have disappeared
gradually in the fall in spite of the be-
ginning of school attendance, fact
speaking against the probability Of con-
tact infection Of this disease as a cause
of its epidemic appearance"
Deductions on Disease.
From the present knowledge Of the
disease and his own Investigations into
its cause and manner of spreading Dr..
Seibert draws the following deductions:
"The organism causing acute spinal
paralysis enters the human body
through the mouth of the patient, (This
excludes inhalation through the nose.)
From the mouth this organism can
enter the blood from the throat, caus-
ing local Inflammation Of the tonslls
and their neighborhood and from there
may reach the blood.
"This germ may pass through the
mouth and stomach and cause local IN
lection of the intestine Causing mild
diarrhpa), and from there can enter
the blood.
an both cases fever appears. =.
Epidemic (massive) infections OF
this kind occur but during summer,
which proves that the common trans
mitter must be one entering the mouths
of persons most freqently during warm
weather in a raw condition, for boiling
heat destroys the vitality of this germ
readily.
"The peculiar appearance Of many
cases during an epidemic Of this dis
ease massive neighborhood infection
near the origin of the epidemic. and
single far away cases. proves that milk
and water supplies do not act as car
riers.
Raw Fruits Blamed.
"These exclusions allow but raw
fruits to remain as possible epidemic
carriers!
"Why? Because no food is exposed
to surface infection by micro organisms
so openly and so MANIFOLD during
alone as raw fruit, on the
open stands and the pushcarts Of deal
ers in the streets.
"No food is so subject TO possible in
lection by means of infected hands, as
the raw fruit on the stands and push
carts of the small deal ers.
"And from no infected food can
germs of disease be transmitted by flies
from one infected breeding place to
many others, as from infected raw
fruit, exposed daily on thousands of
stands and pushcarts in the streets OF
greater New York during summer time.
"That flies can be infected by the
germ of acute poliomyelitis and can
harbor it alive during forty-eight hours,
have been proven by experiments OF
Flexner and Clark, published in The
Journal of the American Medical Asso-
ciation,' 1911.
"The only popular food never washed
reaches the mouth of the consumer--is
raw fruit.
THAT the epidemics Of acute spinal
paralysis in Norway, Sweden and
Northern Germany in 1905, 1905 and
1909, respectively, caused but 1000
cases to appear in each, while the first
American epidemic produced nearly
$500 reported cases in New York, and
the second. now prevalent, promises
to go to the limit can but be ex-
nlain.d hv the following facts:
Raw fruit is a luxury in Norway,
Sweden and Northern Germany, even
during summer time.
Infection by Carelessness.
1.-THE summers of these European sec
tions present but moderately warm
weather, while those of New York are
tropical, causing excessive desire to
quench thirst by the acids in fruit
among the suffering young children in
the crowded tenement districts.
Raw fruit is not exposed on the
streets to contamination by flies in
Northern European cities, as in Brook
lyn and New York.
Therefore if, for instance, part Of a
fruit supply is infected somewhere in
Norway, Sweden or Germany by the
germs of acute spinal paralysis, cases
of this disease will appear wherever
this infected food is taken, near by
and miles away, and will cause many
cases where most of il is consumed, and
but single and small groups of cases
in isolated places where travellers
have taken it.
"These single and grouped cases, dis
tant from the original source, have
never caused new epidemics of this dis