Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-22
TICK" PARALYSIS
INQUIRY UNDER WAY
BY HEALTH SERVICE
Animals Chiefly Affected, but
Humans Are Victims Too,
Doctors Report.
> RELIEF COMES QUICKLY
IF BUG is DESTROYED
Blood-Suckers Declared to Dis
charge Poison Which May
Result Fatally.
ny THOMAS r. HENRY.

n strange paralysis WHICH, ahSSeS
men, sheep, dogs and foxes Is unoer m
. vestigstion by the Public Health SerV-
ice.
This malady. hitherto practically url-
known in medical literature, Is caused
by a little animal tick known TO enUo-
nologistS as dermacentor anderson,
perhaps the most venomouSly versatile
animal in North America.
The paralysis, affecting the motor
nerves, starts quite suddenly with a
numbness Of the feet and legs which
causes difficulty in walking, and In a
short time it is impossible for the VIC
tim to stand. Then the paralysis usual
Iy strikes the hands and arms, and soon
afterward the throat and tongue muscles
NAV be affected. In some cases hands
and arms lose all sense Of feeling.
Disease Spreads Rapidly.
In from three to five days this rapidly
spreading paralysis causes death by
striking the heart or the respiratory
organs.
But the queer thing about it is that
at can be stopped at any time before the
fnal stages simply by removing the tick
which Is sucking the blood Of the vic
tim and recovery is practically imn1e-
diate Within few hours the paralysis
disappears without any noteworthy
after effects. For this reason there have
been few deaths of adults, who normal
ly would scratch of such q tick as soon
as they felt it. Several children have
died
The paralysis Is caused only by adult
female ticks who suck the blood Of their
victims continuously for 10 to Is days,
according to Public Health Service
physicians. The male, who sucks for
. few hours and then rests for while
presumably never is responsible. This
indicates. the investigators say, some
potent poison being thrown into the
blood which has high Threshold.
Only after a considerable amount has
gone into the blood is the resistance
broken down so that there is any et-
feet at all. Then the continuance Of
this effect depends on an uninterrupted
supply of the poison. The investiga-
tors have not the slightest clue ss TO
the nature Of this poison.
Other Diseases Caused.
But the paralysis, while it is the
verdict work of dermacentor ander-
soni, is responsible for only one OF the
011idges which the National Institute
or Health Of the Public Health Service
holds against this little bug. 1t also
Is responsible for the highly fatal
Rocky Mountain spotted fever, for Col
GfA0O
quite different and which Is not fatal,
and in some instances for the dreaded
fuleramia. or rabbit fever.
The latest development, announced
ny the Public Health Service about
month ago. Is that Rocky Mountain
spotted fever which for years slowly
has been extending its area in the
mountain area, at last has invaded the
thickly populated rural areas OF the
East, cases having been diagnosed IN
the District Of Columbia. Virginia, West
Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina,
Delaware and Pennsylvania. In the
East. however, the causatiye agent APP
pears TO be dermacentor andersoni's
very close relative, the common dog
tick The two bugs are practically in
distinguishable. It is unknown whether
the dog tick can carry any of the other
diseases for which the mountain tick
is known to be responsible.
Primarily to protect the public
against spotted fever the capacity OF
the laboratory at Hamilton, Mon, Is
being doubled so that twice the supply
OF vaccine can be manufactured every
year. The laboratory has been taken
over entirely by the Federal Govern
ment from the State Of Montana and
the vaccine will be made available, so
far as possible, for the entire country.
Already one application has been made
from the East. The manufacture Of
this vaccine is such a time consuming,
1aborious and costly process that it
has not yet been taken up by any COM
mercial drug manufacturers.
Seeking for Secret.
With the increased. laboratory IA
cilities the National Institute Of Health
investigators will make an extra effort
10 get at the secret of the strange
paralysis. Thus far it has been con-
fined in the United States to the
northern part Of the range Of the tick
In the Rocky Mountain country and it
extends northward into British Co
lumbia where, curiously enough, spotted
fever has not made its appearance.
One great difhculty, according to Dr.
r. r. Spencer, has been to secure live
female tick wnown TO have caused the
paralysis In a human being. person
who finds such a tick on the body is
not likely to handle it tenderly for the
sake of science, but to crush it at once.
Thus far some specimens have been
secured from a fox brought into the
laboratory in dying condition from
the paralysis.
Efforts made to transmit the paralysis
TO rabbits and guinea pigs, who receive
readily tic SPOktG0 RSfCA VI bNAAASA.'
failed completely. Evidently these anil
mails are immune from any bodily
changes due to the queer poison. the
next step will be TO work with some
animal known to be susceptible-proba-
bly, the dog Experiments in British Co.
=.=s.. sa.@ shoz=. tfGt the paralysis
can be transmitted to the dog under
laboratory conditions.
Some Unknown Factors.
II Is not known whether every female
tick, even In the limited range Of the
paralysis, Is capable of producing and
transmitting the poison. There may be,
IL Is pointed out, some hereditary factor.
Some bugs may be carriers, just as some
human beings are diphtheria or typhoid
carriers. It also is not known whether
the poison is continuously secreted by
the tick or whether 1t is something
chemically generated In the salivary
glands in the course Of long continued
blood sucking. IT also is not known
whether the poison strain could be
transmitted to the dog tick.
Thus far the tick paralysis has been
known chiefly for its strange effects on
sheen in British Columbia. The animal
develops q staggering gait, is unable
10 avoid obstacles and finally falls and
Is unable TO rise however 1t struggles
1t either dies or RECEIVERS automatically
II the tick, having had full meal. falls
of before the poison has reached the
vital organs.
Gases Of paralysis in dogs, sheep and
Children have been reported from Aus
traiia South Africa and Europe, caused