Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-12-10
THE HASKIN LETTER
THE TRADE IN IMMUNITY.
pv Frederic J. Haskin

realize that you ma now be made
immune from some OF the worst
4 d~iseases in the world by anti-toxins
guaranteed by the United States
| government, and that new anti
| toxins are constantly being made
and tested.
me government public health
I la laboratories are working on
Tor scarlet fever, tuberculosis, bu-
/ bonic plague, and influenza. An
aDtitoxIn Tor anthrax, the cattle dis
ease which men have been contract
ing from shaving brushes infested
with the germs a been produced
Nv government scientists, though 1t
Is not vet known whether 1t VIII
u.oge successful in all cases.
Japanese scientist working
/ along similar lines told army doc
1 tors recently that he is developing
a serum for yellow fever. Already
he has been able to delay the in
slant death which yellow fever US
ually brings and he expects to be
able TO prevent death in almost ev-
cry ease when his serum is per
fected.
Most promising of all for immedi-
ate results in the serum to prevent
diphtheria, for this has passed the
i Stages VI ohN -
row being put 10 practical use.
Some time ago, a way was found
10 ascertain whether or not an indi-
vidual can take d~iphtheria, and u
means was developed, similar to
protect those who are Liable to It.
vaccination against smallpox, TO
TO produce a serum or vaccine is a
long and tedious process, and to get
people to accept 1t is still more diff
ficult. New York has begun to use
the test and the protective injections
in its dispensaries and clinics. And
now the New York public schools
are planning to see that every child
belonging to the school system is
| immune from diphtheria.
The process. known as the Schick
test, is a simple one. \ few drops
Of a prepared diphtheria toxin are
injected into the arm of the sub
ject. II a red spot appears in two
or three days the person is not i'm
mune from the disease. If such a
spot does not apear. he is immune.
Those who are liable to diphtheria
are then safeguarded by injections
of a mixture of diphtheria toxin.
Or poison, and anti-toxin. This
vaccine does not pass out of the sys-
TEN in a few months as the anti
toxin given in diphtheria cases does.
Its protective influence seems to be
permanent. or at least to last a
number of years.
Reducing Diphthcria.
This is an important process,
scarcely less So than the original
a%nti-toxin discovery which has cut
down the number of diphtheria
- .-, ~ - fH,an A,aa e.
one out of five when anti-toxin is
promptly used.
From tests so far made, the doc
tors conclude hat a large proper
ton of babies are immune from
dlphtheria. When the third or
fourth year is reached, the percent
age of immunity has dropped to its
lowest point. Children of that age
are especially susceptible. In order
children the number of immune in
creases, and the majority of adults
are not susceptible to d~iphtheria.
1t will still require some time to
popularize precaution against diph-
therl, just as it took time to make
vaccination an accepted bit of rou-
tine. Two hundred years ago al
most everybody had smallpox some
time during his life. Then vaccine
was discovered, people were con-
WINGED of its value. and now a case
or two of smallpox in a town is a
rare calamity. The same thing
should he true of diphtheria when
the Schick test and protective in
jections become part OF the health
regulations of every community.
SO much depends on the quality
and content of each lose of a Sc
rum or other biological product
that the government maintains a
strict supervision ove the produc-
ton of those in constant use. In
the case of some products-the
pneumonia and meningitis serums
and salvarsan which is remedy for
syphilis-a manufacturer must send
samples ~ of every lot made tc
the Public Health Service at Wash.
ington. Here they are analysed and
tried out on animals. If the ami
mails die. or if the sample doesLnot
contain the exact proportion of in
gradients as stated. it is sent back
to the firm and the lot must be de.
stroyed. AS this mean a serious
loss TO a firm, these products are
made with great care. Compare.
lively little is reiected-about five
per cent of salvarsan. for example
fifteen per cent of pneumonia Sc.
rum, and almost none of an~ti-toxin
Anti-toxin and the rest of the hi
illogical products inspected by tn,
government + not examined SC
regularly as the three just men
toned, but from time to time sam
pies are tested ont for strength ant
quality.
Size of the Industry.
M2king and inspecting these pro.
ducts is an important business il
this country. There are around 81
companies manufacturing them il
the United States. compared will
not more than half a dozen in Other
countries. These 80 laboratorie,
turn out $4,000. 900 worth of bio,
logical products a yen. Salvarsal
is the biggest item, then a~nti-toxin
S~alvarsan. while included here, il
not properly a biological produc
at all, but its manufacture is S,
delicate a matter. and it is injected
as a serum, so the government in
Cludes it in its supervision. Sal