Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-11-12

-rASHTNGTON. d. c. Nov S-Thousands of
w American soldiers and workers are now
" receiving injections of the new pneumonia
vaccine recently developed by the army medical
school here. While the vaccine must pass the test
of the winter months when pneumonia is prevalent
throughout the entire country before it be call
ed a success tests already made have proved very
encouraging. Among 700 soldiers injected with
the pneumonia vaccine at Camp Upton, not one case
of pneumonia has occurred. This and other equal
ly satisfactory experiments have llei the medical
world with the hope that means of controlling at
least certain types of pneumonia germs has at last
been found
The DEVELOPMENT of this vaccine by the army
medical school primarily for the army, but the
civilian population has quickly adopted it. After
meeting with persistent opposition to vaccination
FOR smallpox and typhoid fever for years, the medi-
cal profession everywhere is now almost embar-
raised by the popular demand for vaccination
against pneumonia. long line of war workers is
constantly pouring into the vaccination headquar-
ters hurriedy established by the army medical
school here and m all the large cities throughout
the country that have recently suffered from the
pneumonia epidemic, the civilian demand for the
pneumonia vaccine is placing a greet strain upon
our medical laboratories.
Furthermore the army medical school has been
prevailed upon to give another evidence OF its pow
er by inyenting vaccine against influenza. Use
less for this institution to protest that influenza
was an entirely different matter that very little
was yet known concerning the influenza germ be-
cause it is too small TO be seen through the most
powerful microscope and cannot be tested upon
animals either. The public refused to be con-
yinced that if a vaccine could be developed against
pneumonia, could not also be developed
against influenza. In answer to this stubborn de-
mand, therefore, the army medical school mas con-
cocted a new influenza vaccine, only a few weeks
old, which is being sent out by the gallons
1t is admitted that it is entirely an experiment. 1t
may produce the desired immunity, and it may
not but whatever it does it cannot hurt the pa
tient.
A vaccine to provide against pneumonia S a
problem of much longer standing. The army med
iCal school first began working on it over year
ago-long before the recent influenza and pneu-
monia epidemics started. This institution is, OF
course, peculiarly fitted for experiment and re-
search in the matter of vaccines, because it manu-
features all the typhoid and paratyphoid vaccines
used in the army and navy 1t has all the best
equipment for slaughtering billions of germs and
preparing them in vaccine form. The head of its
vaccine laboratory, Colonel Whitmore, is an ex-
remely able scientist and he is fortunate in hav-
ing associated with him men who are willing to
give even their lives to advance their science.
While none has yet been called upon to make this
sacrifice, all have contributed in taking somewhat
desperate chances <or they have been the first to
stand the test of new experiments.
There are certain human diseases which can
not be transmitted to the lower animals. Spanish
influenza is of these, and typhoid fever is an
other. 1t is possible to kill mouse or guinea pig
by injecting it with dose of influenza or typhoid
baccilli but it is impossible to give it influenza
typhoid fever. One scientist claims that he has
been able to give monkeys influenza, but this is
not yet fact accepted by the rest of the medical
world. Hence the only recourse is to test the
success of new experiments upon human beings,
and the average human being is reluctant to be-
come the victim of such test, the laboratory man
usually tries each new hypothesis out upon him
self.
In developing vaccines for military use, the
army medical school first faced the problem of in
lection 1t was necessary to reduce the number of
injections to the lowest possible minimum. For
many years the typhoid vaccine was given in three
injections covering period of four months. Now
if man had to be injected with pneumonia vac--