Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-08-17
TWO RARE DISEASES
Laily Letter by Frederic j. Haskin

WASHINGTON, D. c., Aug. IL
The recent death of a prominent Of
fetal of the Emergency fleet Cor
poiation of an ailment known as
Sal. Joaquin Valley disease focused
the attention of the country for an
instant upon that strange and fatal
malady. OF all the ills that flesh is
heir tor American flesh. at any
rate-this one has the fewest lega-
tees: for no case of it in the fatal
form has ever been known to de-
velop outside that small section of
California called the San joaquin
Valley. The disease, however, while
rare is not mysterious. 1t is caused
by a germ which medical science
has isolated and studied. The strange
thing is that though the disease is
contagious, it's spread is confined to
a relatively thinly populated section
of California.
1t is not quite fair to California
to insist hat the disease is peculiar
to that fair region. San Joaquin
Valley disease exists in two forms
one is the fatal kind, in which the
germ attacks the victims lungs. the
symptoms of the illness being so
nearly like those of tuberculosis that
physicians have sometimes con-
fused the two. The other is a mid
er type, in which the germ attacks
the victims skin. A number of Cases
of this latter type have been OBJ
served in districts in the vicinity of
Chicago. Attacks of this type IRE
not likely to end fatally.
II also seems reasonable to sup
pose that America has no monopoly
of this affliction and that it may
exist and be prevalent in other parts
of the world. In countries in winch
the medical vigil is less expert and
thorough than in our own 1t is quite
possible that a Joaquin Valley dis
ease, as We call it here, is annually
claiming its victims. AT any rate,
n undeniable case of it has been
reported in South America. 1t is
entirely within possibility that the
disease exists there but IS Identified
as the better known tuberculosis.
That a disease may be widespread
in a population n still escape de-
lection was demonstrated in our
owr American experience with pei
lagra. Only a lew years g this
disease was supposed by scientists
to be exceedingly rare in the United
States. But as investigation Pro-
ceeded, the surprising fact developed
that in reality it gas one of the
ccmmonest of the diseases in the
United States, thousands and thou
sards of Americans, particularly at
certain seasons of the year. suffer-
ing from it. and many being slain
by it.
Twenty Years of Study y
The doctors of the Public Health
Service in Washington have been
studying San Joaquin Valley DIS
ease for twenty years. In that time
they have had the germ under the
microscope, have grown it, in cul-
lures outside the human body, have
t~ransplanted the infection to rab-
bits and guinea pigs, and have given
to it a literature of considerable
bulk. They have done everything
but discover a specific cure for the
disease. The cure, like that Of tu-
berculosis, the germ of which has
also been isolated, has eluded them.
The victim of San Joaquin Valley
disease usually dies after suffering
for several years. A few have vital
ity enough to throw it Oft. Practic-
ally only adults seem to be subject
TO it.
The organism which causes the
disease was not difficult TO discover,
for it is a vegetable form rather
LlSner IN the scale OIL ll6 tIdH D1c-
terra and being close to yeast spores
in characteristics. These organisms
are known as ~blastomyces. Sunlight,
fresh air, and invigorating food, to
which the tuberculosis germ will
often yield. do not seem to have
much effect upon the blastomyces
Whence these organisms come to al
fict man nobody knows. but. be-
cause the disease they cause is SO
sharply localized, the Public Health
surgeons suspect that some species
OF animal living in the San Joaquin
Valley is serving as a reservoir oil
the c~ontagion.
The Public Health Service has Sc
many more formidab BILE enemies &c
human life to fight that 1t is devot-
Ing no undue amount of attention
to a Joaquin Valley disease. In
twenty years since the disease has
been recognized. fewer than fifty
cases have occurred in California,
consequently the people of San
joaquin Valley. despite the malai y,
continue to be good life insurance
risks and a go to bed of nights
without worrying lest they be in
vaded by the infection which scme
branch of the native fauna is evil
identity carrying around