Arizona republican., 1919-01-23
EXPERIMENT IN
 'FLU' JUN AC|ON PUZZLE DOCTORS
One Hundred Sailors. Who Volunteered to Test Out Theory of Transmitting Disease Are Unaffected
By Frederic J. HaskIn

WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. l9,-An experiment which makes the trans mission of influenza a more bafflnS mystery than eVer and which at the same time places on record an act of self sacrificing heroism by about 100 naval volunteers, has just been com peted by officers of the United States public health service cooperating with medical officers of the United States navy at Boston and San Francisco.
 As nearly everyone knows. scientists all over the world, in combating the spread of influenza which is still go- ing on. have proceeded on the assump- tion that it is transmitted chiefly by coughing and spitting. The theory has been that the diseased mucus thrown ont by these acts is filled with the germs of influenza, which thus find Judgement in healthy tissue. All the apartments heretofore made sesm to indicate strongly that influenza is trapsmitted in this way, and it is well accepted that most other respiratory disease are so carried.
 Heroic Volunteers
 This latest experiment consisted in submitting the 100 men who volun- tecred for the purpose to every possible method of infection with influenza germs through the nose and throat. These men risked their lives for the general good, and for the advancement of science. They went through a sim gularly trying and repulsive ordeal. They and everyone else, believed that they were being innocuated with the uread disease which is destroying mil lions of lives all over the world. Their heroism is fully equal to that displayed some years ago by the men of the -l1n tbpp1 selves in Cuba to the bites of mos owitoes in order to determine finally whether yellow fever was transmitted hv that insect. The only difference in the two experiments was in the result. Some of the officers who exposed themselves to the bite of the mos quito contracted yellow fever, and one of them died. thereby establishing the soundness of their theory. The volun- teers who submitted themselves to in OculatiOn with the germs of influenza were fully expected to take the disease and were prepared to die. But not one of them developed any symptoms of influenza
 This astonishing negative result which is the sensation of the day in scientific corcles, should not tempt anyone to be careless in the matter of coughing and splitting or in exposing himself to infection by those acts. As officials of the public health service point out, it may be that the germs of the disease disappear as soon as, oI immediately after the symptoms ap- pear. Something like this is true ol other diseases. In measles, for ex- ample. it has been found that the germs which cause the disease are all gone within five or six days after the appearance of the rash, and the case is no longer contagious. The discovery of this fact, which was made by An derson and Goldberger, of the public health service only few years ago has led to shortening the quarantine period for measles by more than half.
 Flu Hard Problem
 These new experiments in tht transmission of influenza" said Sur geon General Blue, show how difficult is the influenza problem. They by nc means indicate that we can afford tt disregard coughing, sneezing and spit ting as common means of spreadins disease and even in the case of influ enza this source of infection should always be borne in mind. I believe however, that we have not paid suffi cient attention to other paths of in lection, especially to the lips, moutl ana H3nQS. The IdcL IlldL the QlSedS vas much less common in army camp where the sterilization of all eatin, utensils and dishes was rigidly en forced. shows the importance of tn mouth as an avenue of infection
 There can be no doubt that thes experiments at Boston and San Fran cisco were carried out with the great est thoroughness Lieutenant Com mander Rosenau of the navy medica corps and Surgeon Joseph Goldberge of the public health service were tn fficers in charge of the Boston erperi ment which was made at the Quaran tine station on Gallop island. Forty seven men were the subjects of thi part of the experiment. All of ther had been more or less exposed to tn disease and 39 of them had never ha any bronchial disease. This means tha some of them may have been naturall immune to influenza, but it is not at al probable that all of them were
 Many Experiments Tried
 The first experiment consisted i thoroughly injecting the noses of abou ten of the men with cultures of Pfeif fer's influenza bacillus-a Virulen germ commonly found in influenza The nsXt form of the experiment wa to take the eScretions from the nose and threats of influenza patients an place them in the noses and threats c he volunteers by means of sprays an sWabss The time occupied in remOvin the diseased mucus from a sick ma and putting it itno the nose or throa of q well man was reduced to as littl IAn|Fe|I00K Y0IIMC