Evening star., 1932-06-02
COLDS DEPENDENT
| ON CONTACT, -FOUR
EXPERIMENTS SHOW
Harvard Professor Denies
Changes of Climate Are
Source of MaIady.
ISOLATED COMMUNITIES
CHOSEN FOR RESEARCH
Health Officers Hear of Tests in
Spitzbergen, Labrador, Virgin
Islands and Alabama.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

The common cold is entirely inde-
pendent OF climatic conditions. 1t can
De spread only from person to person
IL has nothing whatsoever to do with
temperature, dampneSs, winds. sudden
changes or anything else excent in
Vaslon OF the system by a flterable
virus.
Ihs has been established by an ex-
pertinent with four isolated comnun-
tiles in widely separated parts of the
worIo, results OF which were announced
Ior the hrst time by DR.. Wilson G.
Smillie of Harvard University at the
annual meeting of State and provincial
health officers here today.
Four Communities Chosen.
The experiments were conducted with
a nomadlc Indian tribe in the interior
OF Labrador, community of Norwegian
miners In SpitZbergen, at Steyenson's
original Treasure Island in the Virgin
slanoS group and in an isolated com
munity IN Southern Alabama. The
scientists secured the world to find
these groups Of human beings entirely
cut OH from contact with the out
side world.
Inc most striking results were OBJ
talneo In Spltzbergen. The last boat
ieaVeS IN September and does not come
pacK until May. From October to Feb
Fuary the Island is covered with per-
petual darkness. The miners sleep in
not barracks. From these they 90 out
every morning into a temperature of
bO below, walk mile across a glacier
work In their undershirts all day at a
temperature of below freezing. and
then go back to the heated barracks.
lhey are exposed to all sorts of condi-
tlons OF draught and dampness.
4et, Or. Smile said, not a single cold
developed all Winter. When the boat
came IN May, the medical officer con-
quoting the experiment went out to
meet 1t. He contracted a cold almost
al once, and within a few days an epi-
oemlc OF virulent colds was sweeping
over the island.
Mail Boat Brought Colds.
Almost as striking were the results
on the Island Of st. John, in the Virgin
group, which DR.. Smilne described as
community of 735 colored people and
three whites, all ruled by a governor
VINO is Judge, lawyer and doctor. who
puts the people to sleep and saws their
prayers for them" Contacts are yerv
rare with the outside world So long as
TINS lack Of contact was maintained
there were no colds. As soon as the
mall boat from st. Thomas came in an
eploemlc OF mild colds started 1t def
nitely proved the disputed assertion that
folks can catch cold in the tropics.
In Laborador the experiment was
with probably the only true nomads
lett in North America" All through
the desperately cold, almost sunless
winter in the interior, the medical Of
ncer DID not detect single trace of a
cold, With the coming OF Spring a mis-
Slonary came through and held services.
He brought the cold germs with him
and an epidemic spread through the
tribe.
But. DR.. Smillie pointed out. cold
IN itself is of very little importance
except as it paves the way for secondary
infections, such as pneumonia, run
nlng ears, sinusitis, and the like. On
treasure Island none of these de-
velopeo, or were too mild to be detected.
among the Spitzenbergen miners and
the Laborador Indians they were quite
severe. The possibility remains. he
said, that while climatic conditions
have no effect on the cold virus thev
may greatly increase the virulence of
the secondary invaders 1t is also like
~ that their virulence increases with
the number OF persons through whom
they pass.
Whlle colds are common in the semi
tropical conditions of California and
Florida, he pointed out, the cases of
pneumonia and ear infections which
oevelop-usually are very mild and are
serious only for the weak and aged.
Colds Last Three Days.
A cold. DR.. Smillie said, never lasts
more than three days. After that a
SM-month immunity nearly always is
oulIt up so that person cannot con-
tract another cold during that period
mus the average person in temperate
climates has two colds a year But
sensltivity to the filterable virus varies
greatly from person to person. for un-
known reasons. There are individuals.
ne said. who can't possibly catch a cold.
Some have three or four colds a year.
When the cold lasts more than three
days, he said, it is definitely established
that some secondary organism has ill.,
Vaded the system. Nobody ever has a
cold all Winter What seems to be a
continuation of the cold is something
else. None of the bacteria responsible
Tor the secondary infections. he said,
seem to play any part in the cold itself.
That this primary Infection is due to o
fllterable virus, DR.. Smillie pointed out,
seems beyond dispute, although all
efforts to Isolate this virus and cultivate
1t in laboratory have failed.