The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-11-12
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFOR M A TON
BUREAU
FREDERIC J. HASKIN, Director.
Washington, D. Co.
VACCINATION AGAINST
PNEUMONIA
Washington, D. C.

of the new pneumonia vaccine re-
Gently developed by the Army Medi-
cal school here. While the vaccine
must pass the test of the winter
months when pneumonia Is prevalent
thruout the entire country before it
can be called a success. tests already
made have proved very encouraging.
Among 10000 soldiers injected with
the pneumonia vaccine at Camp Up
ton, not one case of pneumonia has
occurred. This, and other equally sat
isfactory experiments, have filled the
medical world with the hope that a
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 was primar-
lily for the army. but the civilian pop
ulation has quickly adopted it. After
meeting with persistent opposition to
vaccination for smallpox and typhoid
fever for years. the medical profession
everywhere is now almost embarrassed
by the popular demand for vaccina-
ton against pneumonia. A long line
of war workers is constantly pouring
into the Vaccination headquarters hur-
riedly established by the Army Medi--
cal school here, and in all the large
cities turnout the country that have
recently suffered from the pneumonia
epidemic, the civilian demand for the
new pneumonia vaccine is placing a
great strain upon our medical labora-
tories
Furthermore, the army medical
school has been prevailed upon to
give another evidence of it's. power by
linventing a vaccine against influenza.
Useless for this institution to prot est
that influenza was an entirely different
matter; that very little was yet known
concerning the influenza germ because
it is too small to be seen thru the
most powerful microscope and cannot
hn tod L. W
public refused to be convinced that if
vaccine could be developed against
pneumonia, one could not also be de-
veloped against influenza. In answ er
to this stubborn demand, therefore,
the army medical school has concoct-
ed new influenza vaccine. only a few
weeks old, which is now 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 can
not hurt the patient.
A vaccine to provide immunity
against pneumonia is problem of
much longer standing. The Army
Medical school first began working on
| it over year ago-long before the re-
| cent influenza and pneumonia cpl
| denies started. This institution is, of
course, peculiarly fitted for expert
ment and research in the matter of
| of the typhoid and paratyphoid vac
cines used in the army and navy. 1t
has all the best equipment for slaugh-
| tcring billions of germs and preparing
them in vaccine form. The head of
it's vaccine laboratory, Colonel Whit
more, is an extremely able scientist,
and he is fortunate in having asso-
ciated with him men who are willing
to give even their lives to advance
| their science. While none has yet been
|
| have contributed in taking somewhat
desperate chances, for they have been
the first to stand the test of new ex-
| periments.
| There are certain human diseases
which cannot be transmitted to the
lower animals. Spanish influenza is
| one of these, and typhoid fever is
another. 1t is possible to kill mouse
or a guinea pig by injecting it with
dose of influenza or typhoid bacilli.
but it is impossible to give it influenza
| or typhoid fever. One scientist claims
that he has been able to give monkeys
| influenza but this is not yet a fact
accepted by the rest of the medical
world Hence the only recourse lis to
test the success of new experiments
upon human beings, and as the aver
age human being is reluctant to be-
come the victim of such a test, the
laboratory man usually tries each new
In ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS for military
use, the army Omedical school first
faced the problem of injection. 1t was
necessasy to reduce the number Of in
jections to the lowest possible mini
| mum. For many years the typhoid
vaccine was given in three injections
covering n period of four months. Now
if a man had to be injected with pneu-
monia vaccine three times covering
the same period, and then perhaps inS
jected with three doses of vaccine
| against dysentery or cholera, it was
apparent that nearly his entire first
year in the army would be devoted to
taking and recovering from the various
vaccine treatments.
So for awhile no attempt was made
to develop or manufacture for military
use anything but the smallpox and
typhoid vaccines. Then came the dis
covery of lipovaccines by the French,
which greatly simplified the problem
In the lipovaccine the French prepared
the entire typhoid and paratyphoid
dose of seven and a half billion or
ganisms in an oil solution and gave it
in one injection. Before this a salt
solution had beeN used which. given
in one dose, had produced too sharp 8
. REACTION upon the patient.
| The development of 1ipovaccines was
: Immediately taken up by the army
medical school. and the injections OF
typhoid vaccine in the army cut tc
one dose. The. success of this method
opened up the possibility of develop
ing and injecting vaccines for many
: other ailments, chief of which was
| pneumonia.
For many years work on a pneu-
monia vaccine has been handicapped
: by the fact that there are a wide
variety of germs which cause pneu.
, monia. There are three types of pneu.
mi hxyf diffpranf
of germs but there is also a fourth
type which is caused by a number OF
germs, all of which are unlike. The
, best that the medical world has beer
able to do is to develop a successful
serum for the cure of what Is known
as tyne l.
A few years ago. however. an Eng.
, lishman named F. S. Lister vaccinate6
some miners in the British mines ir
South Africa with a vaccine which he