Evening star., 1928-12-09
NAL IA FEVER HITS
4 IN LABORATORY
Three Aides of DR.. Francis
Suffer Disease-Miss 4
Evans Wins Praise.

Hospital, has also afflicted three other
persons here who worked in the same
laboratory, it was learned last night.
One of them is Miss Alice c. Evans,
bacteriologist, one of the pioneers in
scientific investigation of the disease.
This developed in connection with
the annual report of Surgeon General
Hugh S. Cumming. of the Public
Health Service, who praised Miss
Evans highly for her work. He de-
Scribed Miss Evans in. his report as
one whose work has established the
Importance of this disease in the United
States, and who was responsible for
the work in preceding years" The dis
ease Is also known as undulant fever,
or goat fever.
The fever. Dr. Cumming said had
come to be considered by some authori-
ties as lone of the most important
public health problems now under con-
sideration''.
Two Are Recovering - e:
The others who have been made Ill
by the disease, which now has been
found in % States and the District of
Columbia. include Benjamin T. Sock
rider, a laboratory assistant at the Hy-
gienic Laboratory, who has nearly re-,
covered; and DR.. G. c. Lake, surgeon
of the Public Health Service, who.
has sufficiently recovered to be trans
ferred to duty at a Marine hospital at
Staten Island.
Miss Evans, who was paid tribute by
DR.. Cumming, Is gradually recovering.
She has returned to work at the labora-
to-. Twenty-ftfth and E streets, where
the Investigations have been carried
forward. But she is only able to work
about half of each day, returning to
her home each afternoon for rest and
recuperation.
Miss Evans yesterday said she was
feeling much better now, but was not
well yet. She first contracted the
fever, accordii>- to reports at the lab
oratol:', as ecIly as October, 1922. had
recurrent attacks, and was hospitalized
at various times at the Public Health
s.Srvice Hospital at Norfolk. Va. and at
Johns Hopkins Hospital. Baltimore.
Mr.. Sockrider, the laboratory assist
ant, said yesterday he believed he was
virtually well from the peculiar all
ment, which. afflicted him acutely he
said for about three months. AS a
veteran, he was hospitalized at Mount
Alto.
DIR. Lake Visits City. ~
DR.. Lake, the fourth sufferer from
the disease here. had a case similar
to that of MIR. Sockrider,. it was said.
but feels that he has virtually recovered.
He was m Washington for few days
last week.
Surgeon Gen. Cumming emphasized
The new developments in the disease be-
fore the House subcommittee on APP
pronriations when he declared.
Work previously carried out by the
service has established the importance
OF undulant fever in the United States.
This disease has been reported from 28
states and the District of Columbia, It
IS being so widely recognized and seems
TO be so prevalent that it appears likely
that it soon will be regarded generally
as one of the diagnoses that need to be
considered whenever prolonged fever,
not assignable to some other cause, is
presented as part of clinical pic
ture"
One State official. DR.. Cumming said
IN his annual report considered undu-
lant. fever "of great Importance in his
state as affecting the public health than
rs typhoid fever and the paratyphoid
fevers combined. Although this disease
may be contracted through contact with
injected cattle or hogs, another COM
mon mode of transmission is by the
consumption of raw milk It is thought
that the work OF. the service relating to
the sanitary control Of milk may be of
value in limiting the spread Of undu-
lant fever" Pasteurization of milk
killed the disease organism, DR.. Cum
T1laraemia Widespread.
AnotheSS disease of comparatively
kfecent development, tularaemia, coming
from rabbits. appears to be much more
widespread than was at first thought, .
Dr. Cumming said. Incomplete reports
for the calendar year 1927. he said,
showed that it had been recognized in
at least AZ States and the District of
Columbia. Fatalities numbering "a
have been recorded among the 654 re-
ported cases. This places the mortality
at about per cent.
When discussing tularaemia before
The House committee DR.. Cumming was
asked If there was any danger of con-
tracing tularaemia from the use of
rabbits for food
eff it is thoroughly cooked the In
lection would be destroyed" DR.. Cum
ming said
Generally speaking the fiscal year
ending June 80, 1928, DR.. Cumming
said was characterized "by generally
favorable death rate throughout the
world
This statement" he added, how
ever. ought to be qualified in two
respects. One is that the 1929
death rate, when more complete rec
ords are available, will probably be
found not to have been lower than
the exceptionally low rate for the pre-
ceding year. The other qualification
Is that any generalization as to the
mortality rate for the world must be
In relative terms, since the rate of NOR
tally varies So widely in different
countries. thus, for example. the death
rate in India or China, or even GER
tain European cities. is several times
as high as that in the United States,
or in most European countries, a fact
that In itself constitutes impressive
evidence Of the results of modern sani-
tation and public health administra-
SON rs 80,
Inspection Protects Nation. ~.~s.
Importation of any quarantinable dis
ease during the year, was prevented,
the report said, as result of the Public
Health Services examination of pros
pective immigrants abroad, its inspec-
tion OF vessels, passengers and seamen,
and its medical examination of alien
passengers and Seamen arriving. at
domestic and insular ports.
Yellow fever. plague, cholera and
other diseases were said to be more or
less prevalent in endemic localities
throughout the world.
Pointing to nearly 1000 deaths from
Nhoop1ng cough in AZ States during
1927, the surgeon general cautioned this
was not a harmless disease as many
recorded it. Measles caused nearly 1000
deaths in Al States-little more than
half the number from this disease dur
ing the preceding year, an increase in
deaths from pellagra was reported in
the lower Mississippi Valley region,
consequent upon unfavorable Industrial
and economic conditions following the
food.
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