Evening star., 1938-04-12
DR.. PARRAN URGES
PLANNED FIGHT ON
SOCIAL DISEASES
Problem Requires Long
Battle, Health Chief
Tells Hearing.
PRAISES PROVISIONS
OF BULWINKLE BILL
La Guardia. Indorsing Measure,
Tells About Work Done
in New York.
Declaring the spread of veneral dis

Declaring the spread of veneral dis
eases Is the most serious public health
problem confronting the country at
this time, DR.. Thomas Parran. Surgeon
General of the United States Public
Health Service. told a House commit
tee TO-DAY these diseases can be checked
successfully only through carefully
planned program extending over a
period of years.
DR.. Parran was called as a witness
In connection with a bill by Repre-
sentative BulWinkle. Democrat, of
North Carolina. which authorizes ap.
preparation of S27l 100000 over a pc
riod of 13 years for use in COM
batting venereal disease.
DR.. Parran was unable to indorse
the bill, since it has not yet been
approved by the Budget Bureau, but
he did say its provisions contemplated
a highly effective program for han
ding this problem.
The bill. however. was strongly in
dorsed by Mayor La Guardia of New
York, both personally and on behalf
OF the United States Conference of
Mayors. as we'll as by other witnesses
Parran Offers Statistics.
The proposed legislation would au-
thorlze appropriation of S3000,o00
Tor the fiscal year ending June 30.
1889: S6.000.000 for the next fiscal
year, Sl2.000,000 for the third, and
COZ 0n0 non for oocI, of tho e,,heoo,,o,+
10 fiscal years. The money would be
allocated among the various States
and the Public Health Service.
Discussing the need for long-range
program. DR., Parran told the Com
.nlttee on Interstate and Foreign
Commerce that $4,000 new cases of
syphilis are treated each year, ap-
proximately 560.000 old cases are dis
covered annually, and the estimated
yearly number of cases of gonorrhea
is approximately 100000.
He said, however that medical
treatment of these diseases has been
perfected to the point where it is pos
sibl to cure 86 per cent of syphilis
cases, if treatment is started early,
and about tWo-thirds of the cases when
the disease has reached an advanced
stage From rs to 80 per cent of the
cases of gonorrhea can be cured COM
pleted in one week through the use of
a new drug, he said.
The surgeon general told the COM
mittee other countries have had
marked success with carefully planned
programs designed to eradicate these
social diseases. In Great Britain, he
said, the ratio of clinic admissions for
syphilis last year was Al per 100000,
whit in this country the figure was
3l8 per 100000 He said that Sweden,
while population of about 100000,
last year had only 1852 cases of syphilis.
80 per cent of which were acquired in
other countries, as compared with
5000 cases in 1918, when that country
began treating the disease on ma
tional scale
New York Work Discussed.
Mayor La Guardia discussed the
work that has been done in New York
In connection with these diseases and
SAID ne believed the Public Health
Service should be given authority to
cooperate directly with cities over
100000 rather than deal with them
through State governments. He, too.
stressed the Importance of treating
Venereal diseases as national prob
lem.
DR. ]. Earle Moore of Johns Hop
kins University said there were 9,443
cases of syphilis reported in Mary
land in 1886 Adequate treatment of
this disease by private physician
costs patient tely $780, he
said, thereby preventing many per-
sons from receiving proper treatment.
The expense, he added. could be sub
stantlally reduced by the development
of clinics.
The bill also was Endorsed bv DR.,
M. j. Rosenau, University of North
Carolina.