The New York herald., 1921-12-25

In dark field illumination" by which
alone it can be seen, it does not resemble
a definite object. To signalize it's power
to turn the skin yellow DR.. Noguchi added
to the name surname, icteroides. Thus
in the vernacular the new pest germ bears
the name "slim spiral, the jaundice maker"
Tests with the blood serum of GONZALES
cent yellow fever patients indicated that
the slim spiral was probably the inciting
agent of yellow fever.
Since his return to his laboratory in this
city DR.. Noguchi has been at work trying
to read the life story of the Slim Spiral,
his newest addition to his collection of
inducers of human ills and in searching
for an immunizing or curative yellow fever
serum. He follows the custom of scientific
men by not making claims of discovery,
being satisfied to record details and OBJ
servations. 1t is probable, too, that he
feels the study of more cases in a. new
locality is desirable.
This year DR.. Noguchi printed a paper
on Recent Experimental Studies on Yel-
low Fever" in which he made the positive
statement that yellow fever is transmitted
only through the bite of female mosquito,
the Stegomid. Established also were the
exact conditions under which these in
fected mosquitoes acquire and retain their
infectivity for man.
The male mosquito is not innocent by
intention, but he happens to have so fiabby
a proboscis that he cannot get through the
skin to suck blood. Apparently his wife
is not at all affected by the poisonous
germs which she imbibes with the infected
blood and with her it's transmission is only
an incident in an honest days work.
In paper subsequently printed on the
"Prophylaxis and Serum Therapy of Vel
low Fever" DR.. Noguchi afirms ability to
produce yellow fever experimentally and
obtain cultures of Leptospira icteroides,
the latest confirmation coming from DR..
lie Blanc of the Rockefeller Institute.
DR.. Noguchi writes in this second mono
graph.
1.-The specific immunity reaction for
LeptospirG icteroides demonstrated with
the serums Of yellow fever convalescents
in Guayaquil Merida and Peru constitutes
further proof of the etiologic relation of
this organism to yellow fever.
"The existence of this property in con,
valescent serum led to study of the pos
sbility Of preparing a specific immune
serum for the treatment of yellow fever
and to consideration of the effect of the
incubation of killed cultures of Leptospira
icteroides as means of protection against
the disease.
Animals Made Immune
BY Injection of Cultures
Early experiments showed that the in.
lection of killed cultures (named above)
into susceptible animals conferred on them
a state of immunity which rendered them
resistant to subsequent incubation with
virulent cultures. The duration of this i'm
munity has been found to be at least five to
six months: the maximum duration is yet
to be determined"
The serum was first tried in the treat
ment of man in September, 1919, when
an American marine on the U. S. S. Chi.
cago, off Honduras was treated by Gen. 7.
G. Lyster and DR.. w. Pareja. Gen. Gorgae
was present and the value of the serum
was definitely indicated. Up to December
81, 1920, the total number of cases of
human beings treated by the serum was ITO
can examination of the results of serum