New-York tribune., 1916-07-14
Ifon Porousis Outlook Not NscowaQing Dr. fzexner z3Ra1

|. .-;.,,,no wh.t.vsr remains. This num-
her Ia greater than Is usually supposeo'
hecause IL includes not only tne ,eia
tivelv large number Of slight or apor-
i've cases' but also a considerable mum,
her az cases in which more or less OF
naralysis was present at one time. me
g;sannearance Of the paralysis may De
rapid or gradual-may be complete III
a few days or may require se'ei"'
weeks or months.
Crippled Permanently.
Th. remainder. and. unfortunately,
rot a small number, suffer some degree
80 nermanent crippling. But even IN
tb;s class. the extent TO which recovery
from the paralysis may occur Is very
nat ,o In many instances the residue
of paralysis may be so small as nos
sariou,iv 10 hamper the life activities
~ the Individual; in others In whom IL
!. Greater IL may be relieved or min
;r,;1ed bv suitable orthopadic treat
ment But what IL is imperative 10
Loen in mira is that the recovery OF
naralvzed parts and the restoration OF
lost muscular power and function is
proces. which extends over q long
period Of time-that is, over months
and even wears. So that even severe
Iv paralyzed child who has made niue
recovery of function by the time the
acute stage of the disease is over, may
20 on gaining for weeks, months, aho
even years until in the end he mas re-
gained a large part OF ms losses.
Fortunately, only very small numoeI
of the attacked are left severely ana
helplessly crippled. Lamentable as u
is that even one should be so ahected'
il Is nevertheless a reinsurance TO know
that so many recover altogether ana
so much Of what appears TO be perma-
nent paralysis. disappears in time.
There exists at present no safe
metbod Of preventive incubation or
vaccination and no practicable method
of specific treatment. The prevention
OF the disease must be accomplished
through general sanitary means; re-
covery from the disease is spon-
taneous process which can be greatly
assisted by proper medical and surgi-
cal care. Infantile paralysis is an in.
fectious disease, due to a definite and
specific micro-organism or virus; recov.
cry is accomplished by process OF
immunization which takes place during
the acute period of the disease. The
tendency Of the disease is toward re-
covery, and it is chiefly or only be-
cause the paralysis in some instances
involves those portions of the brain
and spinal cord which control respira-
ton or breathing and the hearts ac-
tion. that death results.
Finally, it should be added that not
since 1907, at which time the great
epidemic of infantile paralysis, or pol
iomyelitis, appeared in this country,
has the country or this state or city
been free Of the disease. Each summer
since has seen some degree of acces-
sion in the number OF the cases; the
rapid rise in the number of cases this
year probably exceeds that of any pre-
vious year. But it must be remem-
bered that in 1908 several thousand
cases occurred in the greater city
possibly, indeed, many cases of and
deaths due to the disease were never
reported as such. Hence, the present
experience, severe and serious as it is,
is not something new; the disease has
been severely epidemic before and was
brought under control. The knowledge
regarding it now is far greater than it
was in 1908; and the forces of the
city which are dealing with the epi
demic are probably better organized
and in more general cooperation than
ever before. The outlook, therefore,
should not be regarded as discourag-
ing.