Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1920-05-13

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search Laboratories In New York
Shortage of Monkeys s Seriously In
terferins With Progress of Research
Work--Limitatons Of Serun1s Ex-
planned.
The United States public health
service Is experimenting with mon
keys in the research laboratory in
New York city for the purpose of es-
tablishing definitely the value Of vac
cine in the prevention of pneumonia
| and of serum in its cure.
The research work, in which 200
monkeys already have been used, be-
| gan in Washington in March of last
| year in order TO follow up remarkable
| results obtained in some of the army
camps in the use of vaccine against
pneumonia, which in the last two years
hrs caused more deaths than any
infectious disease. The experiments
were started in the Army Medical
school IN Washington by Maj. Russell
L. Cecil and Dr. Francis c. Blake,
now of the Rockefeller Institute of
Medical Research Both reported en-
ronraging results to the New York
County Medical society, and gave fig
ures on the use of the vaccine al
Camps Upton and Wheeler, indicating
great value In the vaccine. Doctor
Cecil is continuing the experiments
with G. /. Steffen, bacteriologist. for
the United States public health serv-
Ice. The work will continue for a
year or more before the research Is
considered complete.
Monkey Scarcity Retards Work.
The experiments are progressing
slowly at present because of the
scarcity of Philippine monkeys. There
are so few in this country at present
for medical work that they command
a price of $50 apiece. Louis Ruhe, an
animal dealer. who recently brought
in shpload of 700 monkeys from In.
dia said it was difficult to import
the animals, because freight shipping
from the Orient was SO brisk that
ship owners would not allow space to
animal importers, and because it was
necessary to send men to India or
the Philippines to look after the
health of each cargo of monkeys.
Doctor Cecil, who stated in report
to the New York County Medical So
ciety that the pneumonia rate at Camp
Wheeler among the unvaccinated sol
diers was 20 times the rate for the
vaccinated, has finished the expert
mentation on monkeys with Type !
of pneumonia, These experiments are
held to indicate that the vaccine gives
protection against this type of pneu-
monia, and that the serum, given In
time, cures II. The vaccine Is an eX
tract made from dead pneum0coccu /
germs. The serum Is taken from the
blood Of horse in0culated with the
germs. The theory Is that the vac
cine stimulates protective action
In the blood of the human being to
prevent the disease, while the serum
contains an agency developed in the
blood of the horse for combating the
disease, which the human system
makes against the disease after it
had obtained a start.
A long series of preliminary expert
monts were made at the Army Medi-
cal school in Washington, which proves
that pneumonia ran a course in the
Philippine monkey Of almost exactly
the same nature as in man. After
that monkeys were used in sets of
two. The pneumonia germs of Type
oh n a
vaccinated and one unvaccinated
monkey, the unvaccinated one being
used as Control" The unvaccinated
monkeys, it was reported, invariably
got pneumonia and died from 1t. The
vaccinated monkeys contracted the
disease, but in a mild form, and soon
recovered.
Large doses Of vaccine have been
used in the experiments in New York
city with more favorable results, Six
sets of monkeys have been inoculated
with the germs there. The unyac.
cinated monkey has died each time,
while the monkey vaccinated with the
larger dose has not contracted the dis
ease at all.
Experiments are now beginning In
the use of Type 2 of pneumonia,
which is in four types. The year or
more of experimenting is to include
the use of vaccines against each type
and combinations Of the vaccine
against all the types. The advocates
of the vaccine believe its value has
| been established in the army camps
against the first three types, but less
| IS known about the so-called fourth
type, which is thought to comprehend
! several groups of pnenmococcus and
other infections,
Inocuiated Monkeys Saved.
Other experiments were made in
the cure of monkeys inoculated with
Type !. They were given hypoder-
mic injections of serum twice day
until their temperature had BECAME
normal. Uniform success was report
ed in saving the inoculated monkeys
by this method:
The results from the use of vaccine
at Camp Wheeler were similar to
those obtained in the Y. M. G. A. In
New York city during the epidemic a
year ago, which reported that Of 27a