Evening star., 1932-10-07
OPENS NEW DRIVE
ON PARROT FEVER
National Health Institute
Alarmed by Prevalence
of PsittaC0SiS.

The National Institute of Health, |
alarmed by prevalence OF the dreaded
psittacosis, or parrot fever, in the west, !
has started a new scientific drive
against this dreaded malady, 1t was |
announced today.
DR.. H. E. HasSeltine of the institute |
staff and an assistant are being dis |,
patched to the Pacific Coast with IN |
structions to locate suitable laboratory |
and start work as soon as possible
They have been provided with fresh |
strains of the dreaded virus obtained !
from recent victims of the malady and !
kept alive by transmission through eX-
perimental animals.
Third Major Drive.
This Is the third major scientific |
drive on a malady against which medi- |
cine still is almost helpless and which |
appears to have firm foothold In the |
United States. When parrot fever f1rst |
appeared in Maryland in the Winter OF |
1880 it was recognized Immediately as |
a serious menace concerning which |
nothing was known. and the National |
Institute. under the direction of DR.. |
George w. MCCOY. at once started try |
ing to Isolate the responsible micro |
organism
The work had progressed only few |
weeks, however, when the deadly virus |
one time II workers in the laboratory |
were stricken with it. Even those who |
never had come in contact with the
sick parrots became Ill, although it had
been supposed that it could be trans
mitted only from bird to man and
would not pass from one human being
to another
For few weeks one of the most
dramatic chapters in American medi-
Nfr writ of f6nr
distinguished scientists went down to
the point of death, recovering and still
weak and shakey, returned to the work.
Not only that, but they gave freely Of
their blood for the preparation of a
serum to save other victims in Wash
fngton and Baltimore Tho-e who had
been victims continued the work be-
cause they believed they had built up
q resistance.
Point Of Greatest Danger
The point of greatest danger was in
feeding and cleaning the cages of the
infected birds. a job usually attended
to by low-paid laboratory assistants
Dr. Mccoy ordered them off the job
and attended to this dirty work him
self. rather than subject any of his
staff to the danger. But the time came
when so many were laid low that it
was necessary to suspend the work and
temporarily to close the laboratory
while it was thoroughly disinfected
The work at this time revealed con-
clusively the nature of psittacosis. 1t
had been described in medical literature
as due to a certain bacterial organism.
This was proved false and the disease
traced definitely to a filterable virus
Several strains of this were obtained
and kept alive in experimental animals.
The next drive was to establish a
laboratory on an isolated island in
Chesapeake Bay where there would be
no danger to a surrounding community
Work here was continued with encour-
aging results when the strains of virus
were lost-that is. they became SO at
tenuated with continual passage through
the blood of animals that they no
longer would cause disease In the
meantime parrot fever had almost dis
appeared from the country. The whole
epidemic, it appeared. had been due to
shipment of birds from South America
received in New York and spread all
over the East from a New York pet
store
New Center on Coast.
Here the case rested until new
center was established this Summer on
the Pacific Coast, apparently from a
shipment of love birds from South
spread of the disease through the
Western States, the most notable victim
being the wife o. Senator William E.
Borah of Idaho.
DR.. Hasseltine himself was one of
the laboratory victims Of parrot fever
and has taken a prominent part in the
previous experimental work He re-
Gently returned from survey which
established the fact that there was an
entirely new center of infection in Cali
fornia. 1t is planned to set up the new
laboratory as near this center as pos
aible
Psittacosis. it was explained by the
Public Health Service. remains almost
as battling as when it first appeared
The only remedy is a purely empirical
one, serum made from the blood of
somebody who is recovering from an
attack. This is by no means a specific.
but often greatly improves the condition
Of victims
Meanwhile the Public Health Service
has frightened its regulations on i'm
portation and sale of parrots and love
birds and issued warnings to beware of
any such pets. especially if they appear
to be sick. 1t is especially dangerous
to handle them or to clean their cages.