The evening leader., 1916-12-02
new DISEASE IN
WESTERN FRONT
nASpiro- -Chetose ICtero-Hemorr-
hagique," Is What the Doc
tors Call 1t.
MEN CALL IT "YELLOWNESS"
it Is Believed to Be Caused by the Ac.
tion of Rainwater on Shell Cases
Effective Serum Has
Been Found.

Paris.-A new and deadly disease
which has appeared in the trenches
along the western front, particularly
in the SOmme area, has been defined.
1t is caused by soldiers drinking wa
ter which collects in shell holes, and
in nearly all cases has proved fatal.
A serum has been discovered, how
ever, which is expected to save many
men afflicted with this "acute jaun-
dice" or 'yellowness," as it has been
enormously called for some months.
In the RussO-JapaneSe war ap-
peared the first cases of "aspiro-chetose
ictero-hemorrhagique, as the disease
is technically termed. The sufferers
assumed a yellowish, jaundice appear
ance, and usually within three to five
days were dead. Symptoms were par
ticularly hard to note in the case of
Japanese sufferers because of their
naturally yellowish cast of skin; but
when hundreds of Russian troops were
stricken with it during the battle of
Mukden it was realized that a new
disease had been encountered.
Almost before the doctors and sur
geons had time to get down to work
on this mysterious disease, however,
the japanese had stretched the Rus
sisn line to breaking point, snapped
it, and won the battle and the war.
Cases in Russo-Japanese War.
"YellOwness' did not appear in any
degree of frequency in the present war
until the SOmme offensive was well
under way. The Champagne offensive
did not last long enough to produce
the disease, it is believed, and the
French did not classify the malady
under its proper terms if they encoun-
tered it at all at Verdun.
But when dozens and scores and
then hundreds of British troops came
down with it at the Somme the British
doctors concentrated on the peculiar
disease. They sent guinea pigs inoc-
ulated with blood from patients suf-
fering from the deadly disease to the
Pasteur institute here Drs. Louis
Martin and Auguste Petite took the
matter in hand and began elaborate
experiments. They received further
reports on the disease as it ragged on
the British front.
Fifty sufferers were concentrated in
one hospital near Amiens. Doctor
1nada of the japanese School of Medi-
cine, who had worked on the strange
malady when it appeared in the Mi
kado's ranks before Mukden, aided the
British and French doctors in study
ing it's cause and course.
The Symptoms.
Men suffering from the disease first
complained of severe headaches, then
repeated strokes of fever and intense
jaundice, when the skin took on
vivid yellow color. In many cases
there was hemOrrhage.
An isolated virus was finally OBJ
tanned from the infected guinea pig
and this was used on rabbits and
horses. From these experiments the
doctors agreed on a solution, the
strength of which was judged proper
for man. Now all suspected cases
are given the serum Immediately.
1t is believed that the action of rain
water on shell cases and other metal
fragments usually found in shell holes,
as well as the presence often of putri-
flying flesh, causes the generation of a
peculiar form of poison. Then when
soldiers, trapped in these shell holes
by barrage fire, drink the water they
Arp immpdiatnlv ctriolyap
''Yellowness" is said to be the first
new disease directly discovered and
classified in this war, as, although it
made its first appearance in the
Russo-Japanese conflict, it was never
definitely classified.