The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-01-20
TOPEKA Static JOURNAL
INFOR m A TION
BUREAU
Washington. D. c
THE INFLUENZA MYSTERY.
A Story of American HerOism,

terry ina ever, ana winch at the same
time places on record an act of self
sacrificing heroism by about one hum
dred naval volunteers, has just been
completed by officers of the United
States Public Health service cooper
ating with the medical officers of
the United States navy at Boston and
San Francisco.
AS nearly every one knows, Scien-
fists all over the world, in combating
the spread of influenza which is still
going on, have proceeded on the as
sumption that it is transmitted
chiefly by coughing and splitting The
theory has been that the diseased mu-
Gus thrown out by these acts is filled
with the germs of influenza which thus
find lodgment il healthy tissue. All
the experiments heretofore made seem
to indicate strongly that influenza is
transmitted in this way, and it is we'll
accepted that most other respiratory
diseaser are so carried.
This latest experiment consisted IN
submitting the hundred men who vol
unteered for the purpose to every
possible method of infection with in
fluenZa germs through the nose and
| throat. These men risked their lives
for the general good and for the ad-
vancement of science. They went
through a singularly trying and repul-
sive ordeal. They and everyone else,
believed that they were being inocu-
lated with the dread disease which
the world. Their heroism is fully
equal to that displayed some years ago
by the men of the army medical corps
who exposed themselves in Cuba to
the bites of mosquitoes in order to de-
termine finally whether yellow fever
was transmitted by 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 mosquito contracted yellow fe-
yer, and one of them died, thereby
eSta bliShing the soundness of their
| theory. The volunteers who submit
ted themselves to incubation with the
germs of influenza were fully expected
| to take the disease and were prepared
to die, but not one of them developed
J any symptoms of Influenza!
This astonishing negative result
which is the sensation of the day in
scientific circles, should not tempt any
one 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, or
Immediately after the symptoms ap-
pear. Something like this is true of
other diseases. In measles, for exam
pie, it has been found that the germs
which cause the disease are all gone
within five or six days after the ap-
no longer contagious. The discovery
of this fact, which was made by An
derson and Goldberger of the public
health service only a few years ago,
has led to shortening the quarantine
period for measles by racre than half.
These new experiments in the
transmission of influenza" said Sur
geen General Blue, show how diff
cult is the influenza problem. They
by no means indicate that we can af-
ford to disregard coughing, sneezing
and splitting as common means OF
spreading disease, and even in the case
of influenza this source of infection
should always be borne in mind. 1
believe, however, that we have not
paid sufficient attention to other
paths of infection. especially to the
lips, mouth and hands. The fact that
the disease was much less comomn in
army camps where the sterilization of
all eating utensils and dishes was rig
idly enforced, shows the Importance
of the mouth as an avenue of infec-
ton"
There can be no doubt that
these experiments at Boston and San
Francisco were carried out with the
utmost thoroness. Lieutenant Com
mander Rosenau of the navy medical
corps and Surgeon Joseph Goldberger
of the public health service were the
officers in charge of the Boston ex-
pertinent, which was made at the
quarantine StatlOn on NIdilOp lSianu.
Forty-Seven men were the subjects of
this part of the experiment. All of
them had been more or less exposed
to the disease and thirty-nine of them
| had never had any bronchial disease.
This means that some of them may
have been naturally immune to influ-
enza, but it is not at all probable that
all of them were.
The first experiment consisted in
thoroly injecting the noses of about
ten of the men with cultures of Pfeif-
fers influenza bacillus-a virulent
germ commonly found in influenza.
None of the men developed any symp-
toms. The next form of the expert
ment was to take the secretions from
the noses and threats of Influenza
patients and place them in the noses
and threats of the volunteers by means
of swabs and sprays. The time oc-
| cupied in removing the diseased mucus
| from Il sick man and putting it into
/ the nose or throat of a well man was
reduced to as little as thirty seconds.
Yet none of the men SO infected de-
veloped any symptoms of the disease.
Determined that the tests should be
| exhaustive, the doctors next submit
! ted a group of volunteers to infec-
ltion by actual coughing and splitting.
For this purpose ten volunteers were
selected. and ten bed patients who had
| recently come down with severe at
| acks of influenza. Each of the VOL
unteers leaned over the bed of each
| of the ten sick men. conversed with
4 him for a few minutes. and allowed
| the patient to cough directly in his
| face, so that there should be no doubt
| of a transmission of diseased tissue.
Each volunteer was thus exposed to
| ten different cases of influenza. and
was in close proximity with them for
not less than three-quarters of an
hour. Yet not one of these volunteers
| developed any symptom of influenza.
The experiments in San Francisco.
which were carried out under the di-
| rection of Surgeon G. ". Mccoy OF
the public health service. and Lieut..
De Wayne Richey of the United States
navy at the Angel Island quarantine
tation. were very similar in method
and in result. The men who volun-