Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-09
Virus Found in Laboratory
Here Linked With Fatal
Epidemic Disease.
ANIMALS ONLY .oO003-
INCH LONG SUSPECTED
Progress Made in Study of Malady
Of Which Only Medical Record
Was so Years Old and Wrong.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

BY THOMAS K. HENRY.
Some queer little bugs" only about
three hundred-thousandths of an inch
long. may be the causative agents Of the
mysterious tropical disease, parrot fever,
which again has broken out In the
United States
Discovery of these ultra minute or
ganisms, members of the filterable virus
family, at the National Institute Of
Health is announced by the United
States Public Health Service. The tiny
creatures were found both in the livers
OF laboratory parrots who died of the
disease and in the pneumonia infected
lung Of one human victim, according
to the report Of Assistant Surg. r. D.
Lille Of the National Institute staff.
Their extreme minuteness Is shown by
the fact that they we're found congre-
gated in great numbers in the vacant
space inside of cells themselves micro
scopic in size. No such organisms
could be found in the cells of parrots
which did not have parrot fever LESSONS.
OAA RuSEeiy GuSpcCbe0s
AS yet the strange little bugs"
are only under suspicion-mysteriou
strangers caught lurking near the
scene Of the crime. But, says DR.. Lille,
their presence is suggestive and merits
further study" They have been tagged
with a Latin name, rickettsia psittaci,
and will be subjected to all the third
degree methods known to bacteriology
to get a confession.
The staff of the National Institute is
anxious to ind the organism
Of this highly dangerous disease which
last Winter attacked IL Of its own
members while they were trying to find
what was responsible for it. The new
outbreak Of a disease believed to be
psittacosis has just been reported to
the Public Health Service from Brook
lyn. AL the cases were among related
persons who had come In contact with
some love birds imported from Havana,
which reached Brooklyn December 81.
Several Of the birds died soon after
arrival. A man who had cared for two
Of the birds fell sick OF what was FIRST
diagnosed as pneumonia and died five
days later. Later four woman relatives
were taken sick.
Cases Thought Influenza.
ALI these cases appeared to attending
physicians to be influenza with bronchial
pneumonia complications, but the close
association with the love birds suz-
yeSted further study. The difficulty Of
distinguishing between parrot fever and
pneumonia Is great. This report has re-
suited IN Tightening of the quarantine
IN love birds and Public Health Service
al halt 10, L
IN at its source. Last year importation
If infected birds had gone on for some
time before the presence of the mys-
.er1ouS disease was suspected.
Meanwhile the National institute Is
following up the virus with vengeance
When it first broke out in January,
1890, all that was known about it was
rom studies of a similar outbreak in
Paris so years ago. At that time French
physicians found what they thought
vas the cauSative agent, an extremely
mall organism which travelled in the
blood, but which did not penetrate the
cells themselves. The bacteriologists
ooked in vain for anything answering
his description and were forced to con-
dude that it didn't exist, or at least
lad nothing to do with psittacosis. The
french doctors may have seen some
hing which happened accidentally to
~ SSCA GocSNA0bC0 MAbkl LGS oAoCAAc
n both parrots and men. In their day,
{ Is pointed out, the mechanical means
I discovering rickettsia psittact didn't
xist.
Not Ordinary Pneumonia.
Otherwise the National Institute
workers. have learned a good deal about
ne disease. Among the points out
med by Surgeon Charles Armstrong,
Who, himself contracted the rhalady
1hlle studying it, are the following:
It Is not ordinary pneumonia whose
ictimS happen to be associated with
arTots, as some physicians claimed at
ne time. In every case it was traced
ack to contact with recently imported
lex birds-parrots, love birds and
anaries.
Man catches the disease from birds.
ather than birds from man. There was
n immediate drop in the incidence of
asses as soon as rigid bird quarantine
as enforced and the infected shipments
objected and destroyed. The disease
roke out at about the same time In
ne United States, Argentina, Japan,
lgeria, Germany, Austria, England,
rance, Holland, Czechoslovalxia, Dem
lark, Switzerland, Spain. Portugal and
laval. This leads to the conclusion
nat 1t Is widely spread endemic dis
ase among birds transported from the
'opicS.
The virus strain apparently originates
! the tropics, but birds apparently have
high natural resistance to It. 1t
reaks out among them, and Is trans
Erred to human cases, in temperate
imates. This leads to the belief that
ldden change of climate lowers the
'sistance and largely confines the mall
dy to the temperate 1one. The in
lbation period Is from to Is days.
here Is considerable evidence that it
IN be transmitted directly from man
} man, although such instances are
ire