Pueblo chieftain., 1921-03-18
CBy Frederic ]. Haskin)

1 New York city, March 1s.-Besidos
typhus. New York has been visited
by two new and altogether amazing
epidemios this year. one OF them is
sleeping sickness: and the other is
that common and heretofore insigni-
ncant malady, known AS hlccups. At
least, so they are called, but neither
is running true TO type.
For the sleeping sickness. which Is
now so prevalent in New York. Is not
the same as the famous sleeping sick
ness OF Africa, the cause OF which is
well understood Nor Is the present
epidemic of hiccups in any way relat-
cd TO those gentle attacks, occasion
ally experienced by every one, more
especially since tho pocket flask has
become 50 popular. The .nev hiccups
are singularly malignant and persis-
tent, and are not At all humorous.
They attack their victim every few
seconds during the day. and are not
always to be suppressed by deep
l breaths, drinks Of water. chunks OF
bread. and other well known devices.
Sometimes a hiccup spasm lasts for
over an hour, and tho htccup series
extends for weeks Rt n stretch.
] Both cpidcmics, affecting hundreds
! OF persons, have completely baffled
New York medical men, and all other
medical men, for that matter. No
one has been able to discover how or
when they come, what to do for them
while here. or how to get rid OF them.
From tho great medical research lab
oratorics OF the city, such as that OF
the Rockefeller Foundation, have come
various theories as to their cause. none
4 Of which has proved convincing.
The most interesting one recently
advanced Is that the two Affections
are in some mysterious and subtle
way connccted-that prolonged at
/ iaclGs OF hiccups are merely one OF
the many Irritating symptoms cf
means unanimously accepted.
The only fact accepted without chal-
lenEo concerning cncephalitis lcthar-
gina, which is =. SIS impressive sCien-
tific name. is that IL does not spring
from the same cause as the African
malady Of the same name. The lat
ter is known to he produced by tho
bite OF tho tsctsc nv. whose chief diet
is the blood OF the crocodile In drink
/ Ing the Crocodilc's blood" according
to an official Of the New York health
department, "thc tsetsc fly imbihes
the lazy bug lurking therein. The
T lazy bug doesn't do tho crocodile any
harm, and It doesn't do the tsetse fly
any harm, but when tho said unpro-
Inounceable lily injects the lazy bug
into horses and cattle It kills them by
I tho thousands, and IL does tho same
thing TO humans, especially the black
ones. In three years. It's deadly bite
killed 10000 natives In ono African
province"
4 New Discnsc.
But tho sleeping sickness, not moro
! than two years old must he some
thinE entirely different. because we
nN flsaHH Ia d L. . Ng
world, and tho only crocodiles about
Now York are kept behind a glass
/ window in the ZOO. Sun. r.. Lcthar-
gina must have cause, and the med
ical profession is striving Enllantly to
supply II. Some or it's members firm
/ ly believe that II is merely an after
effect OF Influenza, but this does not
| help much because tho Influenza germ
remains to be Identified. Besides this,
many others among the profession are
equally certain that influenza has
nothing TO do with the new affiCtion.
| 1t is fact that many OF our sleep
ing sickness patients have had inilu-
lenza," declares Dr. Josephine h. Neal.
| Of tho research department OF the
Willard Park hospital here but VIC
must remember that a large part OF
the reputation OF this city has been
afflicted by tho last epidemic of near
ly three years duration So you sec
that 1t Is only TO be expected that
among sleeping sickness patients there
will be a certain percentage who have
had Influenza"
| Another theory which attracted
much attention for n brief period was
to the effect that the disease was the
same as infantilc paralysis. The symp-
toms, it was pointed out, were greatly
alike. in spite OF the fact that they
We're also like the symptoms of ty-
phoid fever Just as the bowildcrcd
! a n in
the pleasant belief that tho mystery
had been solved. along camc another
from some other authority, asserting
that sleeping sickness was not the