Evening star., 1937-04-05
BR|TON REPORTS
GONORRHEACU
Results Positive in 70 Per
Cent of Cases, He An
nOunCeS.
BY THOMAS X. HENRY.


Discovery of gonorrhea antitoxin
which, experiments to date indicate,
brings about a complete cure in ap-
proXimately 70 per cent of cases, was
announced by DR.. Thomas AnWyl-
Davies, director of London's celebrated
White Chapel Clinic, before the annual
conference of regional health officers
at the Public Health Service Audi
torium today.
The announcement was hailed by
physicians attending the conference
as that of one of the major medical
developments of recent times, per-
haps ranking in Importance with the
discovery of diphtheria and meningitis
antitoXinS.
Up to date, the British physician.
who is considered one of the worlds
foremost authorities on venereal dis
eases, said the cures have been COM
plete and lasting when the antitoxin
has worked at all. In about 80 per
cent of the cases treated however,
there was no effect whatsoever
Some Strains AR Immune.
This anomalous result, DR.. AlWyn-
Davies said, probably can be explained
by the fact that there are different
strains of the gonnococcus, the micro
scopic organism causing the disease,
which are immune to the lethal action
Of the strains used in producing the
antitoXin This will probably be over
come when the material is perfected.
The antitoxin is produced by inject
ing a horse with the gonnococci from
q human patient protective action
is set up in the blood Of the animal,
from which the resulting remedy is
obtained.
From to 20 cubic centimeters of
the antitoxin are injected into the
gonorrhea victim over a period of a
week or more. Meanwhile the patient
is able to continue at work. No hos
pltaliZation period is necessary.
He has been actively at work on the
antitoXin for the past three years, the
London physician said, but it really
may be considered as a elimination
of observation over 20 years of active
practice. 1t promises to place in the
hands of the medical profession COM
plete control over malady which
has been one of the scourges of hu-
manlty for centuries. The disease,
DR.. AlWyn-Davies said, is three or
four times as prevalent in Great
The antitoXin, the clue to the pro-
duction of which came from the
success of meningococci antoxin, is
effective at any stage in the process
of the malady, but naturally cannot
help the permanent ravages in the
system which it may have caused.
These are apt to be especially severe
IN the female.
Many years may be required for the
ultimate perfection of the anti
toxin, DR.. AlWyn Davies said, point
ing out that after 20 years the dosage
of diphtheria antitoxin is still in
question. The meningitis anti
toxin, he said, now is effective in
100 per cent of all cases, and there
is reason to believe that this specific
against an organism of the same FAM
lily will be equally efficient eventually.
HuNdhkd6V LNCh
The difference is that with menin-
gifts unless the specific is given early
the patient is apt to be dead, while
with gonorrhea it can be applied at
any time during the active course of
the disease.
The control of gonorrhea must take
It's place with cancer, tuberculosis and
acute rheumatism among the medical
problems of this or any age, the con-
ference was told by DR.. Ambrose King,
assistant medical officer of the White
chapel Clinic in London.
If progress is to be made in control
of the disease, he said, the right type
of men must be attracted to the prob
lem and the medical profession must
admit it's knowledge of the disease is
elementary.
Several hundred Federal State and
foreign public health officials are
taking part in the four-day confer
ence.
The experts are members of the
Conference of State and Provincial
Health Officers of North America.
General sessions today will be fol-
lowed by committee meetings to-
morrow.
On Wednesday and Thursday the
delegates will be guests of Dr. Thomas
Parran, ir, head of the Federal serv-
ice. at the thirty-fifth State and
Territorial Health Conference with the
surgeon general.