Mansfield mirror., 1916-08-03

attack by an organism or minute para
site on the contents Of the spinal cord
into which It makes its way. The
spinal cord becomes filletl with blood
and the sensory and motor cells, as
they are called. become dis0rganizet
and broken. A healthy baby may be
turned into a cripple over night by the
disease. which for long time hntfiet
the most expert skill In therapeutics.
DR.. Simon Tlexner. head of the
Rockefeller institute, and the man
whose discoveries In connection with
the disease have given him an inter
national reputation. declares, reports
the New York Times, that, according
to NIL records, infantile paralysis
seems ITO pick the strong and well
children in preference to the weak.
Vigorous health seems to be no pro-
lection against the disease"
"The infectious agent enters the
body chiefly. II not exclusively. through
the mucous membranes Of the nose
and throat" he says. "poliOmyelitis
or infantile paralysis, affects chiefly
but not exclusively. young persons; |,
may and not infreQuently does affec,
adults and no age is absolutely free Of
danger Of Infection"
Doctor Flexner appeared before d
meeting Of physicians in Brooklyn and
explained to them how the disease
could be contracted.
The virus Of infantile paralysis ex-
lists In the secretions Of the nose and
throat and In the intestines." he said
Hence the mode Of spread may be
BY kissing. coughing, and sneezing,
which carry the secretiOns Of the nose
and throat from one person who may
be infected to other persons.
"Since the disease attacks by prefer
ence young children and infants whose
nasal and mouth secretiUnS are wiped
away by mother or nurse. the fingers
of these persons readily become con-
taminated. The care Of other children
by persons with contaminated fingers
may, therefore, lead to the conveying
Of the infectious micro-organlsm indi-
rectly from the sick to the healthy.
This danger also exists In connection
with vendors Of food which is eaten
uncooked. The existence Of cases Of
infantile paralysis in the homes of ven-
dors Of food Is, therefore, perpetual
source Of danger. Dissemination can
be made by means Of house flies.
As to Treatment.
Treatment involves isolation of the
acutely i'll, proper care and destruction
Of contaminated discharges, supervi-
sion Of persons In contact with the Iii
and Of all vendors Of food, exclusion
of all flies, and general sanitary con-
troll of the personnel and habitations of
families in which the disease exists.
mo age is absolutely free Of danger
of Infection. although infantile paraly-
sis affects chiefly young persons. 1t
not infrequently affects adults. More
over. as indicated. the disease Is one
that can be communicated by healthy
persons who llave been in contact with
the sick. but who are themselves WE'LL"
reports Of clinical cases indicnte
that the onset of the disease Is likely
to be insidiOus. Parents paying little
heed to slight Spasms in their children
are in due time shocked by the slow
withering of limbs and the beginning of
state which in many instances Is in
distinguishable from physical helpless
ness. Then, when it is too late, the
question Of cOntngion is raised. On
this last point, Doctor Flexner has
written:
OF Infectious Origin.
The idea of contagion in respect to cpl
demic pollomyeIitis is rot new one but
appeared in the literature of more than a
quarter of century ago. and of late has
been frequently invoked. The clinical
course OF the disease indicated an infec-
tiOus origin but up TO very recent times no
convincing knowledge concerning the ma
ture Of the agent causing infantlle para.
lysis existed The epidemic OF 1907 in this
country, in France and in Germany led to
renewed study of the nature Of the In
fectioE In the course of which the more
subtle and recent methods of bacteriology
were employed.
These methods led almost Simultaneous
ly. In the United States. by Doctor Lewis
and myself. and in France. by Landstein-
er and Levadit:, to the discovery that the
infectious agent was an extremely minute
mlcro-organism that readily passed
through the pores of earthenware filters
and constituted. therefore. an example OF
the so-called filterable viruses. of which at
the present time several examples are
known to cause infectious diseases in
man and the lower animals. The filterable
nature Of the virus has now been con-
frmed wherever the subject has heen &C.
curately investigated. On acquisition Of
the fact Of the nature OF this virus, and
OF the further fact, on which the discov-
cry OF the nature Of the virus actually
depends. that both the higher and lower
monkeys are subject to the experimental
disease, rest the recent great advances
which have been made In the investigation
Of infantile paralysis.
Proved by Experiments.
Experiments with monkeys conduct
ed with extreme care proved that in
fantile paralysis could be transmitted
from one patient to another. The di.
sease. moreover. Is caused by a most
minute organism or germ, as the popu.
lar phrase has come to be.
ut is. so far as we can now Judge.
one of the most. minute organisms
known to cause disease" says Doctor
Flexner. ''This conclusion follows
from the fact that in aqueous suspen-
sion, such as Is secured through pre-.
pairing an emulsion Of the spinal cord
In distilled water, 1t passes with great
readiness and little or no loss of po.
tency through the pores Of the densest
and finest porcelain filters. namely,