Evening star., 1936-12-30
TR|CH|NOS|S KILLS
THOUSANDS mus.
Science Hears "DeviI Nal.
ady" Is AIarmingIy Preva-
lent in Deaths Studied.
By stafi Correspondent OF The Star.

lent in Deaths Studied.
By STAFF Correspondent OF The Star.
ATLANTIC CITY, N. j., December
30.-Millions in the United States are
suffering and probably thousands are
dying each year of lurking disease,
which, in most cases, goes undiagnosed.
This Is the devil malady'' Of an
cient Palestine, to which sometimes is
attributed the origin Of the Jewish ban
against eating pork-otherwise known
as trichinosis. 1t usually has been
considered rare disease in the United
States.
The determination of its prevalence,
reported to the American Association
for the Advancement Of Science, was
made by DR.. Maurice C. Hall and
DR.. Benjamin ]. Collins of the United
States Public Health Service from ex-
aminations of hundreds of persons
who have died during the past year at
nine hospitals. They found that about
13 per cent Of all were infected with
trichinosis, usually to mild degree
and undiagnosed. 1t was seldom the
direct cause of death, although it may
have been a contributing cause in
many instances.
Trichinosis results from tiny worms,
the trichinae, which are found in
fresh pork, inclosed in cysts. When
these are swallowed the cysts dissolve
and the worms bore into muscles and
may even invade the lungs. If the
infestation is severe, the pain is al
most uncomfortable, which led to the
old superstition that the body was
harboring devils out of the swine. If
the infestation is mild. there are
lighter pains and serious sapping of
energy, but the victim may never COM
plain to physician.
Service Death Rate High.
Persons dying in Washington, Drs.
Hall and Collins said, represent fair
cross section of the mortality of the
entire United States. They found,
however. that the trichinosis infection
rate was much higher in Army and
Navy personnel than in the civilian
population. In the Navy-if those
who died were a fair sample-it ran
as high as 80 per cent for both officers
and enlisted men. In the Army it was
around 25 per cent. For the civilian
population it was much lower, but
seemed to affect both sexes and all
social grades about equally.
The data indicate clearly, they said,
that the United States has the great
est trichinosis problem in the world.
The disease results from eating un-
cooked or only partially cooked pork,
usually from pigs that have been fed
on garbage. There are still, they
pointed out, large garbage-feeding es-
tablishments along the Eastern sea-
board and the practice is common
among farmers.
The high incidence in the Army
and Navy. they explained, is due to
the wandering life of the personnel
In the Navy. especially, food may
come from all sorts of sources.
II only l per cent of those infected
with the trichinae die annually. they
stressed, the death rate for the United
States would amount to Several thou
sand. 1t is probable, they said. that
less than 10 per cent of the cases ever
are diagnosed. unless they reach the
severe stage.
Cancer Heredity Discussed.
Demonstration of two sets of genes
which govern the heredity of cancers
in mice-and presumably in man
was presented by DR.. Maude Slye of
the University Of Chicago.
This finding, she reported. results
from a project which has been pur-
sued continuously since 1906 and in
which more than 100000 mice of
known cancer transmitting strains
have been used. Studying the Incl
dence of various types of malignant
tumors in these animals, she has been
able to work out mathematical formu-
las which predict very accurately the
chances that any individual will die
of certain kind of malignancy.
There must be, she found. unit
character in heredity for each type of
cancer-carcinoma, sarcoma and the
rare blood disease known as leu
kemia-and also a unit character for
each location of such a malignant
growth. For example, in order to de-
velop cancer of the liver, one must in
herit both a carcinoma gene and
gene of liver susceptibility of carcino-
maud.
All Of these. she found. are ere
cessive factors" If they exist in only
one parent, they will not result in
cancers in the offspring. This can be
demonstrated by mating different sorts
Of cancer strains and calculating the
mathematical probabilities according
to the laws of genetics.
A commonly held theory among gen.
eticists has been that there was one
hereditary factor for all sorts of cam
Ger and that its location was deter
mined by some external agent in the
body.
DR.. Clarence c. Little then present.
ed paper, also based on expert
ments with mice, which tended to
show that the widely spread cancer
of the breast was very different from
all other types of malignant growth,
in that it was not transmitted through
the genes, but through the tytoplasm
Of the cells in the female line.
Short Cut Bridge Bids Received.