The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-06-05
Males More Often
 Paralysis Victims

New YOrK, June 5,-The special committee, appointed by Mayor Nit ohel-and supported by the Rockefel- Ter Foundation-to aid the Depart ment of Health in combating the in fanti1e paralysis epidemic last sum- mer and fall, has just completed it's report of the work. It is soon to be published.
 The following advance report is made from the full text It gives the record of a painstaking study of 5,496 cases diagnosed by the department of health as polion1yelitis from July IT to Sep tember 20, 1916 (out of total of 9,023 cases in the greater city) and conclusions.
 1. Infantile paralysis is communica- ted by personal. contact.
 2. Slight and non-paralytic cases are the most frequent sources of infection. As these cases arouse no suspicion oth- CTS come more in contact with them.
 3. The disease usually develops from three to ten days after exposure.
 4. Previous good health does not give immunity from attack.
 The points in the report cited as of the most practical importance to parents are these:
 First: Children who are i'll should be kept away from others until it is definitely certain that the i'll child has not @ communicable disease. i
 Second: If ones own child develops suspicious sypmtoms keep the child away from others till it is known he has not a communicable disease.
 Early diagnosis of suspected cases and prompt isolation of the patient are held to be of the greatest importance to prevent spread of the disease.
 In supplementary Investigations the committee could find no substantial evidence to show that infection was spread from contaminated sources of milk supply or other foods, nor that the disease Is carried by lower ami mals, insects, or by clothing and other extraneous objects.
 The committee consisted of Mayor Mitchell, chairman, Dr. Simon F1exner, vice-chairman, Dr. Haven Emerson, pr. Walter B. James, and Dr. Glen worth R. Butler. Dr. Alvah H. Doty served as medical director and super vised the field force of physicians and nurses.
 The starting point of the commit tees work was the belief that many mild cases of infantile paralysis were escaping early detection and constitu- 1 ted a source of infection by not being brought under control. The commit tees plan of work was to go to the homes in all cases of infantile paraly- sis reported to the Medical Director I by the department fo health and to visit, as well, the homes of relatives, friends and acquaintances of the pa x;1 @o .%niy 1% poliomyelitis or of undiagnosed illness had occurred among them.
 This investigation of 5,49O cases en- tailed a total of 1,125 visits by nurses 1 to 63,855 families, while the medical inspectors made $500 additional vis- | it's. All statements by members of patients families were confirmed be- fore being considered in the commit l tees final analysis.
 1 As to classes of persons most liable l to attack, the committee found that males apparently develop infantile par alysisR more often than females. This is also the concensus of opinion among l foreign medical authorities. Of the I 5,496 cases they studied, SOTO were males and 2,401 females.
 This same group included 5,432 per sons of the white race, 63 of the black, and one of the yellow race These figures would show that on the basis of their proportion of the popu- lation, the negroes seem less subjec
 to infantile paralysis than white per
 sons. This deduction is not complete ly justified, however, inasmuch as tht lack of close association between tn, two races reduces the chances of ex
 posture by contact.
 The committees observation con firmed the common experience tha poliorhyelitis is principally a diseas,
 of childhood.
 A tabulation of 5,432 cases by age
 shows 192 case under six months, 79;
 one year of age, 1898 two years, 1,O9'
 three years, 693 four years. From thi point the number of cases steadily di
 minishes with the increasing age o
 the patients, leaving but a small pc cent. of cases among children nor
 than ten years old.
 The committee regards as signifi
 cant the fact that only 192 babies un
 der six months of age were affected
 less than four per cent. of the whole
 Their conclusion is that the smal
 number of nursing babies affected i
 due to the fewer opportunities the,
 have for contact with other persons