New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-09-01
Paralysis Germ
Again Isolated
By ; Doctors
Three Philadelphians Con
firm Discovery Made by
Noguchi and Flexner
Poliomyelitis Is Still
"A Mystery, However
Scientists Unable as Yet to
lnoculate Living Creatures
with Bacilli

| Confirmation Of the discovery in 1919
OF germ believed TO cause infantile
! paralysis, or acute anterior poliomye
| hts, by Drs. Flexner and NogIchi. of
| the Rockefeller Institute, has been
made by three Philadelphia doctors.
The New York Medical Journal an
nounces to-day.
The three physicians, Georg. D.
! Hest. Myer Soils Cohen and John A.
holmcr, report they have succeeded in
isolating and cultivating an organism.
taken from the brains or spinal cords
OF human beings or monkeys afflicted
with the disease. They claim the or
ganism is identical with the globod
bodies found by Flexner and Nocuchi.
NhlIe the success of the three doc
/ tors is highly valuable. according 10
DR.. William II. Park, director of the
Bureau of Laboratories Of New York
! CITY. since the work checks up the ex-
pcriments made by DR.. Flexner, polio
n1yelitis is still mystery. That is
because, SAYS Or. Park. the physicians,
as far as reported, have been unable
TO inoculate living creature. with the
germs.
The bacteria would be definitely
| proved as the cause Of poliomyelitis
! II an animal should catch the disease
/ from them.
/ Methods Same as Flexner's
Tn. work Of the three physicians
/ was done at tho Jules +. Mastbaum
! Research Laboratory. Of the Jewish
Hospital and tire McManes Laboratory
Of Experimental Pathology. Of the Uni
! versity Of Pennsylvania. The article
IN "Thc New York Medical Journal" de -
/ scribes in technical details the methods
used and the results secured. The
methods were the same as employed
at the Rockefeller Institute
The article says in part:
We have succeeded in isolatng four
! strains OF the organism. Two were
/ strains secured from brain and spinal
I cord taken from human beings who
/ died Of pohomyelitIs at the Philadel-
7 phia Hospital for Contagious Diseases;
( one strain came from the fresh brain
! OF monkey which DR.. Charles X.
Mills and Dr.. Allen J. Smith permitted
/ US TO culture, the MONKEY having de
vcIoped poliomyelitis following the IN
/ tracereorsl injection Of human virus;
i our fourth strain came from polio
myelltls monkey, a segment Of whose
| spinal cord was given by the Pennsyl-
. vanla State Department of Health
Laboratory, through the courtesy Of
Or. Samuel G. Dinon and DR.. James
u. Rucker. jr
Thirty DAYS for Development
On one instance fragments Of the
( fresh monkey brain we're planted in
7 tubes OF kidney ascItes fluid. in the
other three instances a Mandler citrate
was InoCulated. In all about thirty
five tubes were inoculsted with polio
myelltis material and successful
Growths were demonstrated in five
TUBES. The average time elapslng be
tween Inoculation and the appearance
Of growth was over thirty days.
an the mos; successful instance one
Of the tubes. in addition TO being COW
cred with oil was placed in an atmos-
, phere of hydrogen.
The utmost difficulty was expe-
rienced in strsining the minute organ
! isms. In satisfactorily stained film
| the very minute organism shows no
particular arrangement. Large masses,
, clusters, chains and single individuals
may be found. The large masses are
( found only when growth has been very
good and incubation prolonged