Evening star., 1935-05-11
STARS, MEN AND ATOMS
Notebook of Science Progress in Field,
Laboratory and Study.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

in a few isolated cases. In 1924 and
1929. however, there were encepha-
litis outbreaks of an epidemic char
acter in Japan. These cases also
differed clinically from encephalitis
lathargica, but gave a picture much
closer to that of the st. Louis cpl
demic. The Public Health Service
pathologists. however, have established
that the two were different diseases.
perhaps due to closely related causa-
tive agents. That the American form
was introduced from Japan is con-
sidered extremely doubtful.
A remarkable feature of the St
Louis epidemic was the increase of
the incidence of the disease with
age, from 81 cases per 100000 Of the
population under 10 years old to 4l9
cases per 100000 population 80 to
80 years old. There was also a dis
tinct tendency for the disease to be
more fatal in the higher age groups,
with a case fatality of 80 per cent
in those over 80 years old and less
than 10 per cent in all under SO
years.
Il -
This same study of the st. Louis
epidemic led to the discovery of the
virus of still another disease hitherto
unrecognized by physicians and
clinically similar to spinal menin-
gifts, which may hold serious threats
for the future.
This virus was first encountered
during the transmission in monkeys
of infectious material from an indl-
vidual who died in st. Louis. The
second strain was met with during
attempts to transmit experimental
infection from the brain of a woman
who died in Maine last Fall with a
syndrome, which included high fever,
delirium, stiff neck and severe head
ache. The third strain was recov-
cred from a monkey who died after
being inoculated with the virus Of
poliomyelitis. or infantile paralysis.
Rabbits, guinea pigs. mice and
monkeys inoculated with this virus
hs'-e all died from a severe sort of
c. ltral nervous system inflammation.
II is still uncertain whether this
virus actually originated in the human
br.lns or whether it existed originally
in the monkeys and only happened
to be encountered during the expert
mental work The indications, how
ever, are that it exists in man, because
in the blood of some persons there
have been found protective anti
bodies. Altogether, serums from the
blood of 166 persons have been tested.
High protective qualities were found
in and doubtful ones in 8. Blood
was taken from persons who had suf-
fered from all sorts of Infectious
nervous diseases and from those who
never had undergone such an illness.
One of the strongest reactions was
obtained from the blood OF colored
laboratory worker at the National In
stitute of Health who had never had
any serious sickness through his life.
This indicates that the immunity may
develop in the absence of any central
nervous system involvement. The
probability is, the Public Health Serv-
ice doctors point out, that the colored
man had the malady at some time,
but In SO mild form he did not
recognize it. Both encephalitiis and
poliomyeltus, to which the disease is
supposedly closely related, sometimes
occur in the same way.
Just what the new disease Is like IN
its clinical manifestations is un-
known. It may, however, have been
the mysterious ulness suffered BY .