Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1922-08-17

| Emergency Fleet Corporation OF al G
arlment known AZ San Joaquin VAL q
ley disease focused tho attention on y
the country for an instant upon that t
strange and fatal malsdy. OF sH the lc
| Ills that flesh Ia heir tor Amen- 4
can flesh, at any rate--ths ono nhs .
the lowest legatees; for no cas-" OF u I
in the fatal form has ever boon known
to develop outside that small section {,
| Of California called tho San Joaquin
Valley. The disease, however, wniie
rare is NOT mysterious. II N caused
by n germ which medical science mas
isolated and stndied, its spread ~
confined 10 a relatively thinly popu~
lated section OF California.
II IA not quito fair to California to |.
insist that the disease IL peculiar 10
that fair region. San joaquin Valley 1,
disease exists in two forms one is the
fatal kind, in which the germ, at
tacks the victims lungs, the Tynp- I
toms OF the Illness being so nearly 4
Ike those Of tuberculosis that phyei-
clans have sometimes confused the /
two The other IL milder type, IN /
which the germ attacks the victims |
skin. A number OF cases OF this latter
type have been observed in districts I
In the vicinity vi filitd-5V. <htSfhsn' - /
! this type are not likely to end fatal |
ly
| II also seems reasonable to suppose |
3 that America has no monopoly OF
, this affIiction and that It may exist !
and be prevalent in other parts N the
world In countries in which the med
ical vigil is leos expert and thorough
than in our own, II Is quite possible
~. "a. roff IfsS<, a
we call II here. is annually claiming
It's victims. At any rate, one unde-
niable case OF /. has ben reported in
South America. II Ia entirely within
possibility that the disease exists there
but is identified ar the better-known
tuberculosis.
I. That a disease may be widespread
e in a population and still escape detec-
g. ton vas demonstrated in our own
l. American experience with pellagra.
e. Only a few years ago this disease
r was supposed by scientirts 70 be ex-
v ceedingly rare in the United States.
l. But as Investigation proceeded, the
surprising fact developed that in
T., reality It was one OF the comrnonest
= Of the diseases in tho United States
~ thousands and thousands Of Aneri-
70 Of the year, suffering from It, and
"a many being slain by II.
Id Twenty Years OF Study.
L The doctors Of the Public Health
ps Service in Washington have been
studying San Joaquin Valley disease
K for twenty years. In that time they
nd have had the germ under the micro
scope, have grown Il in cultures out
TO side the human body. have trans
en planted the infection 20 rabbits and
A. guinea pigs. and have given TO IL a
is literature OF considerable bulk. They
Ill have done everything but discover a
ar specific cure for tho disease The
IN cure, like that OF tuberculosis, the
T. germ OF which has also been isolated
nd has eluded them The victim of San
q. Joaquin Valley disease usually dies
On after suffering for several yeara A
IN few have vitality enough to throw Il
"a off. Practically only adults seem to be
subject 20 It
An The organism which causes the dis
y ease was not difficult. TO discover. for
,,. 1t is a vegetable form rather highe,
w., in the scale OF life than bacteria and
q, nbeing close to yeast spores in charac
he terlstics. These organisms are known
"a as blastomycee. Sunlight. fresh air
-, and invtgorating food, to which IN
tuberculosis germ will often Yield
do not seem to have much effect upol
the blastomyces. Whence these or
ganisnls come to afltct man nobod,
knows, but, because the disease the,
cause Is so sharply localized, IN
Public Health surgeons suspect tha
some species OF animal living in IN
San Joaquin Valley Is serving as
reservoir OF the contagion.
The Public Health Service has $
len many more formidable enemies I
human life to fight that IL Is devot
ing no undue amount OF attention Z
San Joaquin Valley disease. In III
Tic twenty years since the disease ha
been recognized. fewer than fit
'Ae cases have occurred in Californi:
Consequently the people of the Sa
=. Joaquin Valley. despite the malad,
continue TO be good life insuranc
risks and can go TO bed Of night
without worrying lest they be invade
,aa by the infection which some branc
OF the native fauna is evidently carr,
,x, ing around.
Another Queer Disease.
ook OF much more concern to the Publ
Health Service lately is anoth,
'ul- disease now prevalent in the Unit,
States but little known TO the puI
VI lie. This ailment is known
clonorchiasis, or liver nuke diseas
anu Although there are hundreds al
even thousands OF cases OF IL now e
, =. listing in this country. and the sta,
Is apparently all set for It. not
~. single case Of clonorchiasIs has ev
been known TO develop in the Unit
Grid States. 1t is entirely imported by
victims. most IL not all OF whom a
uich Chinese, and Japanese. The Pub
Health surgeons estimate of -ha
tnat one Of every 100 Chinese in I
und United States is suffering from
. on Any alien suffering with clonorcha!
Is barred by the quarantine regul
be tons from entering the United Stat
but the disease is often hard 70 dete
ious and undoubtedly numerous suffers
get in.
The scientists studying clonorchia
our have revealed the fact that nature C
outdo the most imaginative novel
MS when 1t comes to stretching the 10
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