Montgomery County sentinel., 1935-06-20

headline attention.
People hesitated to go through st.
Louis, and automobiles charted their
route around the plague" city when
coming to the Century of Progress in
Chicago. And exposition officials had
to broadcast that there was no sleep
Ing sickness in Chicago, and, even then,
people would not believe them.
There are two kinds Of sleeping sick
ness-the older kind that had more
than 30 per cent mortality and that
left the survivors almost worse than
dead in that they were physically help
less and mentally without much rea-
soning power, and then the new kind,
known as epidemic encephalitis, which
has low mortality rate and in which
the recovery Of the survivors is COM
plete with no detrimental after effects.
1t was this second kind that st. Louis
had.
The first kind came apparently as an
aftermath of the great world influenza
epidemic of 1918-1o, although it is be-
lieved to have made a few minor ap-
pearances earlier. This kind is called
encephalitis lethargica.
The new kind, the milder sort, called
epidemic encephalitis, made its first
known appearance in Japan in the
nineteen twenties. Then it was not
heard Of again until it broke out in
Paris, ILL.,, in 1882; and in the follow
ing year 1t centered itself spectacular
ly in st. Louis, with a number of cases
reported in neighboring communities.
Encephalitis, both kinds, belongs to
the new brain and spinal diseases
which we call the Twentieth century
diseases. Infantile paralysis and spinal
meningitis are also in this group. They
are most battling diseases, and many
scientists are devoting all their time
trying to discover the cause and the
cure Of them.
The causative agent of infantile pa
ralysis is some invisible germ, and we
have reason to believe that the virus
of infantile paralysis may be wide
spread on the membrane of the throat
and nose Of everyone during the sum-
mer months, when the Incidence Of this
disease is greatest; nevertheless, very
few people have the disease IN its
characteristic form. The particular
susceptibility of the Individual seems
to be the determining factor in infan-
tile paralysis.
We have learned a few things, but
not many, about infantile paralysis in
the last 25 years. But in the case of
epidemic encephalitis we have made
considerable progress in the time since
it first appeared in this country in
Paris, Ill. For a while we did not
know what animal could take" it, but
now scientists have found that they
can give this disease to the mouse by
injecting some of the emulsion of the
brain Of human case into the brain
of mouse. Scientists rejoice at this
discovery, for now great many re-
search workers can be using their de-
tective powers to try to find out how
people can develop resistance against
this new disease or how they can be
made immune to 1t.
Infantile paralysis attacks principal
ly the younger age groups, while epi-
demic encephalitis usually attacks the
older age groups. In the type of en-
cephalitis we have been having lately,
the patient usually recovers and has
no more bad after effects than If he
had had head cold.
1t Is strange that now that science
has practically conquered the high
death rate that used to follow diph-
iberia, measles, typhoid, scarlet fever
and other communicable diseases, we
have this new kind of communicable
diseases on which history cannot give
us any light. We have learned that
many persons have had infantile pa
ralysis' In so mild form that they
didn't know they had anything unusual
the matter with them; still they de-
veloped antibodies SO they are now
immune.
According to the mouse testing meth
cd in encephalitis, it seems that some
people are immune to sleeping sickness.
They may also have had it in so mild
a form that they likewise did not know
they had had anything more serious
than a cold.
No one has yet been able to discover
the virus that causes the common cold.
We know 1t is there, but 1t is so In
fnitesimally small that 1t goes through
every bacteria filter we have. 1t may
be that when we can Isolate this virus,
we may have the key that will unlock
the mystery Of all these new nervous
system diseases.
Meanwhile, since we don't know the
cause Of sleeping sickness, 1t is best to
play safe by isolatlng person who has
1t from contact with anyone except his
caretakers. In our experience with 1t
30 far, 1t has never struck twice in the
same household. We may have few
eases Of 1t this coming summer-again