Evening star., 1932-07-31
SCIENTISTS PLAN
NEW DISEASE WAR
Method of Fighting Post-vac'
cination Condition Studied
by Health Institute.

Something equivalent to war games
for the human body's army of defense
against disease invasion are proposed
by DR.. Charles Armstrong OF the Ma
tional Institute of Health as a result of
experiments conducted here looking to-
ward prevention of rare nervous dis
ease which sometimes follows vaccina-
tion Of children.
This complication, as well as some
other serious maladies, DR.. Armstrong
believes, may be due in part to the fact
that the defense mechanism of the body
has not had enough exerciSe-that the
soldiers are inexperienced or have
grown lazy.
AS a result of experiments with rats
Il is recommended in the Public Health
Service report of the work that children
more than a year old be inoculated
with diphtheria toYoid some time previ-
GUS to vaccination. Immunization
against diphtheria, 1t is pointed out, is
Of even greater importance than pro-
lection against smallpox. The toxoid is
the ciphJheria toxin which has been
modified by a special process SO that it
has no deleterious action but retains
its ability to confer immunity.
Sets Army Into Action.
The presence of the toxoid, DR.. Arm
strong believes, sets the defense mechan-
ism Of the body, or its army, into ac-
ton. It gets into trim to meet the more
serious invasion of the vaccine virus a
living organism capable of almost in
ciSe," DR.. Armstrong says, ''is essential
to the functional well-being of familiar
tissueS-even to bones and teeth-and
1t may be assumed that the same Is
true of the tissues which constitute the
defense mechanism, whatever and
wherever they may be-"
The nervous disease which sometimes
follows vaccination IS known as post
vaccination encephalitiS." 1t has a Sen-
eral resemblance to the dreaded en-
cephalitiS lethargica, popularity Known
as sleeping sickness" and has a JIearly
so per cent mortality. 1t was first dis
covered In 1924, and the cause remains
unknown, although there is some evi-
dence that 1t Is due to the invasion of
the brain or spinal fluid by the vaccine
virus. During the last 10 years there
have been only II cases reported in the
United States, but in spite of its rarity
the disease has been a thorn in the
side of the Public Health Service be-
cause Of the argument it offers against
vaccination. So exceptional efforts have
been made to get at the bottom of the
mystery
1t was known that the injection of
vaccine directly into the brains of mice
produced condition which was usu-
ally fatal. Armstrong tried inoculat-
ing the mice with diptheria toxoid be-
fore placing the vaccine in the brain.
He found that a much larger number of
che animals so treated lived and that
those that died usually did so after a
longer interval. This was considered a
very severe test. There Is apparently
an obscure but remarkably efficient
mechanism which prevents vaccine get
ting into the central nervous system
By shooting the vaccine directly into
the brains Of the mice this was dis
pensed with altogether, and still the
fatality rate was greatly reduced. Bet
ter results are considered probable
when the toxoid and the natural nerv-
GUS system defense work together. The
results are not conclusive. Dr. Arm
strong says, since what is true of mice
may not be equally true of children.
Relationship Is Shown.
But, he points out, the theory seems
to work out in actual statistics Of other
diseases. Study of the great infantile
paralysis epidemic in New York State
last Summer shows that the incidence
Of this dreaded nervous disease was six
or seven times higher among children
who had shown q positive reaction to
the Schick test for diphtheria. Infantile
paralysis Is a disease Of very low in
fectivity, although it Is very much
higher in this respect than the vaccine
virus. Measles, whose infectivity is
very great, shows no relationship to the
Schick test reaction. Scarlet fever,
whose infectivity is much less than that
of measles, but about is times as great
as that of infantile paralysis, shows a
relationship about half way between the
two
This means essentially that an indi-
Sidual whose defense mechanism is ef-
fective against diphtheria is also protect
ed from various other diseases of low
infectivity. The diphtheria toxoid, it Is
believed may ont only confer immunity
against diphtheria itself, but also,
through exercising the defense mocha
nism, non specific immunity.
Where primary school vaccination is
practiced," says DR.. Armstrong, ''it Is
probable that for many children it is a
notable experience, constituting their
first exposure to a disease which gives
a solid immunity. The evidence sub
mitted rather suggests that advisability
Of giving the child, especially If more
than l year old, the benefit of expert
ence with the nonviable diphtheria
toXoid before it is submitted to inocu-
lation with vaccine virus, a living enti-
gen capable Of infinite multiplication.
The hope Is expressed that pre-
liminary exercise or mobilization Of the
immunity of defense forces may lead to
a more efficient anti-vaccine virus re-
spouse T. H.