The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1920-05-07
Or. Simon Flexner Proposes
Combating Dread Disease
at Its Origin.
EASTERN EUROPE PLAGUE spot
Many Recorded Epidemics Shown to
7 Have Emanated From That Area
Disease Claims More Victims
Than European War.

New Notwithstanding to DIR. Simon
Flexner, Director Of Laboratories Of
the Rockefeller Institute for Medical
Research. further occurrences Of the
influenza epidemic can be prevented
only by wiping out the disease Vat, Its
source. In Il recent address before the
Congress of American Physicians and
Surgeons, later published by the tAmeri-
can Medical Association, he outlined
the path of the disease through its
different stages.
"There are excellent reasons for re-
garding the endemic IhoIne of Influenza
Ia be EASTERN Europe" he said. "and
in particular the border regions be-
tween Russia and Turkestan. Many
recorded epldemics, have been shown
more or less clearly to emanate from
that area, while the epidemics Of re-
cent history have been traced there
with high degree Of concluslveness.
, From this Eastern home, nj intervals
of two or three decades migrating
epidemic influenza begins. moving east,
ward and westward, with the greater
velocity I'm the latter direction.
Uncanny in Action.
"To the casual observer there Is
something uncanny in the way influ
cnza strikes down its victims. While
other epldemics proceed from bad to
worse. with at least progressive in
creases in intensity influenza seems to
overwhelm communities over even wild
or stretches of territory as by single.
stupendous blow. While In the one
case the gradually accelerating rate Of
speed of extension may be taken to
indicate personal conveyance Of the
provoking micro-organism, In the other
the sudden wide onset appears the
very negatlon of personal communica-
rion.
Hence the invoking of mysterious
influences. the revival OF the notion of
miasm and similar agencies, 10 account
for this phenomenon. Indeed. the pub
lie mind In general lends itself readily
10 such formless concepts for the rea-
son that there still resides In the mass
of the people, even In the more en-
lightened countries, a large uneradi-
Gated residue of superstition regard
ing disease. One does not need to look
far or dig deep In order to uncover
the source Of this superstition. We
have only recently emerged from q
past In which knowledge Of the Origin
of disease was scant. and such views
ms were commonly held and exploited
were mostly fallacious. II is. indeed.
very recently. If the TRANSPORTATION
can be said to be perfect even now,
shat the medical profession as a whole
has been completely emancipated. All
this Is very far from being matter
IT remote importance only. since IN
the end the successful imposition OF
sanitary regulations involves wide co.
operation: and until the majority of In
dividuals composing a community Is
brought ito fair level of understand
ing OF and belief In the measures pro-
posed, serious and Sustained endeavor
to enforce them is scarcely to be ex;
pected. s $780,
Routing . Buoaboo.
and yet no better instance of a
communicable disease could perhaps be
invoked than influenza to exercise the
false idea Of the mysterious origin OF
epIdemics. To dwell solely on the sud
den and Overwhelming stroke az the.
disepse a wholly. 70 overlook t'seI
signlfraft 1ncidahts that ,precede tho
mass jn6ecfion, becanse -fhby are ls6f|
such Ordinary nature and lack eli ara