The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1919-03-28
SLEEPING SICKNESS
nationwide STUDY
Strange Malady Given The
Attention OF The
Profession.

the new and mysterious disease
which has appeared in several cities
and communities and is known as
the sleeping sicxa,ss" Government
medica men at the Puolic HEALTH
Service Headquarters here arc not
sufficiently informed at the present
Just what the disease red;'y is. They
have IN hand ouly Information as TO
time to give any definite opinion as to
the general characteristics of tn
maIady.
Surgeon General RLpert Blue, of
the Public Health Service. and his
officers here in Washington and in
the field are calling the new disease
encephalitis." DR.. Blue intends to
obtain reports from every possible
source ana hats instructed hi; field
officers to got er,',.;n"ns OF H. sem
with which 10 conduct his la 'otgtOry
q, estigations
The Government doctors ha1 @
found that the disease is no. African
Sleepih ; eiCELesJ, transmitted hy an
insect At this time of the year
there are none of these insects in this
part of the country, they point out
elacpiI@s. /; arrays tt. last stage -
ne Afcic3I disease which has mt
been - case in all the recent LII
stances ~cg1T;eu to Car Blue.
l. New Disease.
Physicians believe thu. this is az
altogether %cW disease. but there is
some cviG"rSe that it w;,s in Vienna
as en.ly as $50 According to the
information so far received here, the
disease has IowheIe in this country
reached NtiCemic :D'm. although =
mas appeared as an endemic in Eat ,
pean countries. The first case came
to the attention of the Public Health
Service about a month ago. Since
then cases have appeared in New
York, Chicago and Washington, and
il is believed that there may be 9TH
er cases not given publicity.
Surgeon G. NJ. Mccoy director OF
the HYGIENE Laboratory of the Pub
Tic Health Service, who is studying
the disease, issued the following
statement to-day.
There is not mu1h Known about
the disease and we II lvc not yet as
certaiIed whether i. is infectious or
not. We are 'makGf efforts to OBJ |
cain specimens from cases. We have |
no information that blood contact is |
necessary to spread the disease.
This is very clearly different from !
the South African disease. Both have
but one symptom in cOmmon-stu-
pOr. Otherwise they are quite diff /
ferent.
Theories that the disease is a |
form of infantile paralysis or that it
is form of blood poisoning, likewise
have been exploded Only a few /
cases have been reported to US, and at /
the present time we know nothing
about how it is communicated"
Symptoms Described.
symptoms of the disease as studied |
abroad are described in a statement
issued by Public Health Service Off
Gals. This statement terms the new
disease ''lethargic encephalitis.
Thirty-seven deaths were recorded in
a study OF 16S cases in England. The
stupOr varies in duration from two or
three days to four or five weeks.
temperature of the patient ranges
from 1O1 degrees Fahrenheit to 104
degrees
The public health statement on the
sickness says;
" In the majority of eases q pro-
dromal period may be recognized, but
it is not very well defined, the symp-
toms being the early stage of those
OF the developed disease. Usually
The first symptom is simple catarrhal
oOnjunctivitis, and in smaller mum
her OF cases tonsilitis. Simple sore
observed, but the calient symptom
observed, but the salient symptom
observed in so per cent of the cases /
at this stage was progressive leth-
argy, 1t might be ushered in sud
denly by a fainting attack or fit, but |
the onset was more often gradual. |
The patient became dazad or stupid, /
slept a great deal and was drOwsy by /
day In marked cases the lethargy /
was accompanied by heaviness of the |
gyelids, pain in the eyes. blurred vi
sion and photophObia, ana in we'll
marked cases gradually passed into
stupOr.
Headache was common, and gid !
diness was highly characteristic !
early symptom, and in some cases /
was accompanied by diplopia. Men
lal hebetude was often associated T,
with highly emotional state and the
patient might exhibit, without ap-