The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1917-10-02
Its Usual Mode of Escape is
Through the
Nose.
HEALTHY PEOPLE ARRYIT.
Notable Lecture Before the
State Medical Society
Today.

transfer Ol pOI4OlAJ S'AeiS W ''SH
6eys has removed all doubt concerning
It's infectious nature" declared DR. h
L. Amoss, of the Rockefeller Institute,
New York City, in an address this aft
efnoon before the West Virginia State
Medical Society at The Farmont.
BY innocuiation tests with the Varl-
GUS secretions OF human cases, 1t mas
teen shown that the only constant
route of escape from the central nerV'
Gus system is through the nose, al
though in a few instances, the virus
has been detected in other places.
AS far as can be determined, the
virus does not multiply IN nature out
side OF the human body, except under
conditions OF the laboratory. There
fore, in order to account for the spread
of the disease. direct transfer OF the
injecting agent from one person to an
other must be assumed. The trans
Ter ia accomplished by means of the
nasal secretiOns, which have been
shown to contain the virus.
Recent observations OF the disease
has led the Rockefeller Institute inves'
tigaters to the proposition that all
cases OF poliomyelitis are due either
To direct contact with Il person, who is
either in the acute stage of the incuba'
ton period, or healthy carrier.
The first conclusive evidence that d
carrier or contact may be capable OF
2 transfer of The disease was brought
forth from the experimental work OF
,Flexner, Clark and Frazer. who rinsed
the nasal cavities OF the parents OF d
patient in the Rockefeller Institute
The combined washings OF the father
lnd the mother, who themselves show
ed no evidence of the disease, injected
into monkey produced typical expert
mental poliomyelitis. That this mon
key suffered from the disease was
SHOWN by the autopsy and subsequent
trensference Of the vi"rs to other mon
keys.
DR.. AluUoe ....u ,..u, Int people
thought that bedbugs and tleas were a
carrier of the disease, but he brushed
this opinion aside. He cited instances
where growrups had associated with a
family in which the disease was preva
lent and later on their own children
we're affected. DR.. Aoss described cpl.
denies that had been experienced In
Vienna, Germany and Sweden. The dis
ease, he said, originally came from Ger.
many presu nably through Sweden or
Denmark. During 1916 when the cpl,
dapic was experienced in New York
GtE, Il is estimated that there we're
1A200, 900 persons o. the most suscep
t!ble age, that is under sixteen years
yet there were only S,I42 cases OF
poliomyelitis or about . per cent.
The following observations upon
the mechanism OF defense OF the body
against poliomyelitis are. 1t has been
shown that nasal wasnugs Of some
sdults contain substance capable OF
neutralizing or renuerlng nominee
tlous the virus U puilUmyelItlS. Not
all adults and IA smaller proportion OF
children possess tnCse Substances in
their nasal seCreLOus, and the power
10 neutrallZe is not generally present
under abnormal conditions. Children
w1o are IN the early acute Stage OF the
disease, some OF ,Eose who have re
covered and carrier UI polIumysntis
nave been found to possess this power
AAS44 ISoullo w llul prove, Uul SuS
gest, that there MAJ be seasonable
distribution OF the neutralizing sub
stances. The power OF the nasal seCre
ttons to neutralize the virus is consid
cred to be the first line OF defense
against the infection. Since there are
healthy carriers of poliomyelitis who
never show evidence OF actual inva
sion, and since there are persons who
hot possessing the neutralizing sub
stances, have not contracted the dis
case after repeated exposure, there
must exist other means OF defense.
In concluding DR.. Amoss said: Polio
unyelit1s must be regarded as selectiye
~ highly contagious. The proposition
Is here presented that all cases Of polio
n'yelitis result fro mthe transfer of the
virus by means OF nasal secretlons
grouped as follows: Persons In the
acute stage OF poliomyelitis: persons
who have recovered and still harbor
the virus; persons in the incubation
period and healthy carriers. DR.. Amoss
Eaid that all fthe tests had the sane
ton Of the Rockefeller Institute. Some
Of the opinions expressed he made on
his own authority
Probably sixty-five different expert