Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-03-10
STRANGE MALADY'
APPEARS IN WEST
Form of Sleeping Sickness
Develops in Illinois and
Missouri
INFLUENZA AFTERMATH
Many Cases Are Fatal-Pa.
tients Lose Consciousness
for Week or More

Chicago, March 10.-A mysterious
malady. taking the form of what some
call sleeping sickness" but is believed
TO have no relation to that dreaded
disease. has appeared in Marseilles,
Evanston, this city and surrounding
towns. It has been fatal In it's results.
and the cause of the Illness has not
been determined officially. The health
authorities have been aroused, and DR..
John Dill Robertson. health commission
er of this city. has been investigating.
The first report of death attributed
to the malady to come to the personal
attention OF Doctor Robertson was an
nounced last night. The victim was
forty years old. Doctor Robertson has
instructed all physicians treating the
disease to report their observations He
said emphatically the malady Is not the
sleeping sickness" of Africa.
On Saturday information came from
Kansas City, Mo-, to the effect that the
malady had appeared in that section
with several cases of long sleeping and
death.
Aftermath Of Influenza
The general opinion among doctors
who have not investigated the matter
closely is to the effect that the victims
may have become prostrated as the re-
suit of an acute attack of influenza last
fall. and that this Is an aftermath of
the disease. The patient lapses into
unconsciousness, there is complete pros
tration and the functions seem to resist
all efforts to be aroused Sometimes
death Is speedy and frequently 1t comes
| after six or eight days.
In Marseilles. n short distance from
Chicago, Beman Osgood. fifteen years
old. died last Monday morning. He had
| influenza in October, was soon better.
| but weak. He returned to school and
became sick again. Five weeks ago he
| complained of stomach troubles and
| double vision. The doctors could not
understand the case. The boy fell asleep
| fifteen days ago and never awakened.
He could not eat or swallow. The doc
! tors believed the cause of death to be
spinal meningitis or brain lesion, as
| there was an apparent painless sleep
which every science or test failed to pen
citrate.
Doctor Charles A. Elliott, Chicago. was
summoned and pronounced the case one
of sleeping sickness He told of the
| malady causing a sensation in England.
| This was the fourth case In Doctor Eli
| otis experience.
The death of Wilfred wakey, residing
near Marsellles, which occurred in jan
uary, was diagnosed as spinal meningitis,
| but the symptoms were about the same.
| In Evanston the Health Commissioner
| found that several cases we're reported,
but that the victims recovered. with one
exception. That was In the case of
Lydia Grey. She suffered from a mys-
terious ailment, sleeping for two weeks
In the hospital.
| In England and France n
While the Chicago doctors have been
mystified by the discoveries, the Journal
of the American Medical Association. the
official organ of the physicians. of the
country, also published here, added ad-
ditional interest to the subject by pub
fishing in the issue of February s an
editorial showing that a mysterious dis
ease had appeared in England and
France resembling the sleeping sick
ness" of this section.
The editorial said in part:
Last spring considerable alarm was
awakened in Great Britain at the
outbreak notably in London and
Sheffield, of cases of Illness present.
ing n group of unusual cerebral or
cerebrospinal symptoms. The dis
tinctive features appeared to be those
of an acute general disease associated
with a condition Of increasing languor.
apathy and drowsiness, passing into
lethargy; progressive muscular weak
ness, passing into complete disable
ment. and combination of various
cranial nerve palsies, OF which ptosis.
squint and nystagmus were charac-
teristic signs. The cases were pro-
visionally diagnosed botulsm. toxic
opthalmoplegia. epidemic stupor. epi-
demic lethargic encephalitis. acute
poliencephalitis, poliencephalomyelitis,
bulbar paralysis and Heine-Medin dis
ease. There is some evidence that a
comparable illness has appeared In
France and in Austria.
The English Investigators were unable
10 determine the real cause of the sick.
ness OF course. il was not the sleep.
ing sickness of Africa. But the idea
was strong In the medical mind of Grea,
Britain that the disease was associated
in some manner with after effects of in.
fiuenza.