Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1916-10-17
SIDE LIGHTS ON IN
FANT|LE PARALYSIS
Selected From Iowa Health Bulle-
tin and DR.. Simon Flexner's
Address.


1SS5-S9-93 cases.
1S90-94-151 cases.
1S95-99-345 cases.
19OO-O4-349 cases.
19O5-O9-SO54 cases.
Statistics since that period are
not available but the disease has
been increasingly prevalent in the
northern section of the United
States within the mentioned years
with an aggregate of over 5000
cases.
In April, 1910, a few cases of in
fantile paralysis appeared at Mason
City, Iowa, and the months of May
and June ushered in a well marked
epidemic of the disease in that city.
From the time the first disease in
1910 was reported to the state
board of health Office, until August
of the same year, there were in the
state 1876 cases and 20 deaths.
Experimental researches within a
former period have demonstrated
beyond doubt that the disease is in
fictitious and communicable to mon
keys. Special care should therefore
be given in disinfecting the sputum,
and all %excretions Of the patient.
The exact modes of transmission
from person to person are not
known. The disease is possibly
transmitted through the air in dust,
food or drink, possibly by insects or
even by animals. Healthy persons
may apparently carry infection from
the patient to the third person. In
Iowa the records show that there
have been six instances of paralytic
disease occurring in lower animals
on the premises or in the immediate
vicinity of an epidemic outbreak of
the disease in human persons. The
animals affected were kittens, chick
n and pigs. In this connection it
is interesting to note that DR.. M. J.
1>csc1au, Of Boston, has suggested
tho lole of the stable fly as a car
rier CT this disease.
Tilc use CT q solution of perhydrol
containing / per cent of hydrogen
peroxide is advised as a gargle or
spray for the throat in cases of the
disease. The value of this is con-
firmed by DR.. Simon Flexner Of the
Rockefeller Institute for Medical Re-
search in New York City. In one OF
their articles upon the subject the
authors state: "The virus is quick
ly destroyed by a dilution of perhy-
drol containing 1 per cent of hydro
gen peroxide"
DR.. Flexner early in July, 1916,
contributed an excellent paper upon
the subject of infantile paralysis
making himself easily understood by
the large number of laymen present
at the gathering, where the paper
was read. A few-and very few
things which are absolutely known
about the subject of infantile par
alysis are these:
Infantile paralysis is an infectious
and communicable disease, caused
by the invasion Of the spinal cord
and brain by a virus, a minute fl
terable micro-organism, distinctly
visible under the microscope. This
virus exists constantly in the cen
trail organs, and upon the
mucous membrane of the nose and
throat and of the intestines in per-
sons suffering from the disease; it
has not been detected in the blood
of patients.
The ordinary domestic fly may be-
come contaminated with the virus
contained in the secretions of the
body and serve as the agent of its
transportation to persons and food
with which they come in contact.
So insects fall under suspicion.
The longest period after incubation
of monkeys in which the virus had
been detected in the mucous mem
brane of the nose and throat was six
months.
During the prevalence of an cpl
demic, habits Of self denial, care,
cleanliness and consideration for the
public, welfare could be made to 60
very far in limiting its spread.
There is no safe method at pres
ent of preventive incubation or vac
cination and no practicable method
of specific treatment. The preven-
ton of the disease must be accomp-
lished through general sanitary
means and all enlightening litera-
ture o%btainable by families in which
the disease exists, should be studied
with care.