Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-06-19
DEMONSTRATE "COOT|E"
TRENCH. FEVER CARRIER
American Medical Science Tackles
One Of War Zones Large
Problems.
VOLUNTEERS FOR EXPERIMENT
Sixty-Six Noncombatant Members OF
Expcditionary. Force Barred to In.
sect Bites and Blood Injections,
That Truth Might BE Learned.

sect Bites and Blood Injections.
That Truth Might BE Learned.
WASHINGTON. June ls.-Sixty-six
OF the American cxpeditionary forces
voluntarily barred their backs to the
''cootie." or the trench louise. behind
the British lines in January. and as a
result to-day the secret OF trench fever
is known TO medical science. according
TO an announcement from the Secretary
of War.
In the medical annals of the war
these sixty-six are heroes as truly as
though they had gone over the top"
Their achievement is ranked with tn:
work of Walter Reed who also d-
rccted Il fever squad from tho army ih
detecting the cause OF yellow fever
Trench fever has ragged among the
armies on the west front and while
probably never fatal. yet through its
rccurrent attacks has represented one
OF the greatest causes OF disabilities
and consequent loss OF man power. It
may leave its victim permanently unfit
for military service. but in any evc7t
the average loss az time to each man
Is about six months
AMERICAN MEDICAL
SCIENCE TACKLES PROBLEM
American medical science attacked
this problem Immediately on the ar
rival Of the cxpcdi,ionary forces in
Europe. The problem presented two
angles. Was the disease caused by
germs. and, if SO. how was 1t spread
Attempts to use animals TO solve
these problems were failures. No amt
mails susceptible to the disease could
tic found. The "cootie" would not nest
IN the fuzzy name OF the Missouri
mule, even though the bray had been
surgically removed. nor in the long
hair OF the French poodle. though the
n ir f,1v, nd fan lad IN
protect IL from the yappins teeth Of
the animal
Volunteers were called for and the
siNiy-six barred their backs. Not heroes
OF the froHt-line trench were they,
but members OF field hospitals. amhu-
lance units and other noncon Blatant
branches Of tho service
pICkED As RESr SPECIMENS
OF HEALTHY MANHOOD
They were picked from a big batch
of volunteers as tho hcalthitSt and
hushicst specimens and Tho best ablu
10 stand the long aicEe OF fever it
was hcilev al that each li,tlc "cootic"
carried around in his shooting appa
ratus.
Every shot case Of fever" was
tho belief cf the doctors. First TO d.
'crmine IL the disease were germ
disease. The microscope could detect
n" germs but many Of these 80
small the nnsst glass cannot fad them.
So blood was taken from men wit;
trench fever and injected into the veins /
OF the volunteers. Out OF the thirty /
four SO treatacd with The blood Or
some OF its constituents. taken from /
seven cases of trench fever. twenty
three developed the disease. while NJ .
teen out of sixteen developed the dis
ease when treated with the whole bloo /
from trench fever cases.
SHOWN THAT TRENCH
FEVER WAS GERM DISEASE
1t was proven. Trench fever was
"a germ disease. But how transmitted?
Everybody has Coolies" in the
trenches. from the commanding general
To the rookiest doughboy. 1t is the
proper thing and i; cannot be done
otherwise. 1t is discussed at the break
fast table and the ruling conservation I
at afternoon tea and II your command +
ing general At review seems suddenly [
10 twist his waist line in one di.ec- (
ton and his shoulders in the other.
sympathetic wiGGlc is likely TO run
down the line OF the army for miles .
Everybody IS doing il.
The "coot.e." friend of the iowly
and highest alike. naturally was sus-
pected as the one who had fire.. admis- +
sion 10 every costume and its wcarcr .
So the medical corps collected lot OF .
persona! coolies" from the bodies OF
trench fever patients and turned them .
lccSc on tho S!NtyS!X.
OF TWENTY-TWO BITTEN
TWELVE DEVELOPED DISEASE
or twenty-five So bitten twelve de-
Nelopcd the disease, while four bitten
by lice from healthy men toh. yes a .
man can be healthy and have lice. and
perfectly presentable in the best draw
inE-rooms. too. did not develop the .
fever. Eight other volunteers living /.
under exactly the same conditions in
inc same hospital wards. except that
they were kept free from lice did not
develop the disease The fever devel. ,
oped in five 20 twenty days after blood !
inncculation, but required from ff,ecn
TO thirty 10 develop when transmitted /
via the "cootie' route. and the vic
TINS IN most cases lost twenty to
twenty five pounds and have spen,
much OF the time since las, January
IN 2 british hospital in bed
ilnn!nS chaplet of appreciative
reward to the record Of the sixty-six
the announcement OF the Secretary OF |
War to-day says:
IL was n mean thing those volun- |
teers did in France. To face iIIness
quire particular valor
incidentally the hospital in which
the experiments were carried out was
sne!led by the Germans in the aarI,. |
part OF the March drive.
1t is believed by the army modio.,
corps that the sacrifice of this rrom, |
or sixty-siX men will in time lead ~
me projection OF thousands of men
from the ravages of trench fever"
And now for the "cootie." Irnc,o
Sam has added his armies to the ,is,
or central power enemies. Every hide
Will be battle field until the ..cootio,,
mas gone the way of the yellow fevor