Evening star., 1940-02-16
Hall y. ! Population
Declared Invaded BY
tuberculosis Germ
Dr.. Porr Discusses !.
Disease at 6. W. U.
Post Graduate Clinic

! Approximately half the American
population has been invaded by
the tubercle bacillus, in the majority
of cases without producing an ac-
tive infection, DR.. Leland w. Parr,
bacteriologist Of George Washing
ton University Medical School. told
the postgraduate clinic there this
morning.
A popular belief has grown up,
he said, that everybody has had
T. b." but the latest findings in
dicate that this is far from the
truth. For unknown reasons, 1t
seems to avoid some persons almost
regardless of the degree Of exposure.
The bacillus, he said, is not very
virulent microbe and human beings
have a high resistance to its inroads,
shown by the fact that there are
only about million active cases
In the United States out of approxi-
mately $4,000 900 who can be shown
to have harbored the organism.
Not Declared Conquered Disease.
1t is, he stressed, far from a con-
quered disease and still represents
one OF the leading causes OF death
in the United States 1t apparently
can be acquired at almost any time
OF life, he said, but is much more
than commonly prevalent among
medical students and nurses. A
rigid program Of detection and pre-
vention is now underway in the
medical classes at George Washing
ton. he explained, with the purpose
OF catching the malady at its ear
liest manifestations. During the
past two years, he said, four cases
have been detected In this way and
all the victims are now completely
cured, although they might have
developed fatal cases if discovery
had been made later.
Failure to find any evidence of
scurvy in District penal institutions,
although the blood content Of vita
min c. or ascorbic acid-the scurvy
preventative found In fresh fruits
and vegetables-wasm much below the
recognized safe minimum, was re-
ported by DR.. Joseph H. Roe, pro-
fessor Of bio-chemistry.
The prisoners also failed to show
any great prevalence Of colds or
similar infections supposedly influ-
enced by ascorbic acid deficiency.
One explanation, he stressed, is that
the prisoners may have a stored re-
serve supply Of the vitamin in their
tissues at the time of entering Jail
which is sufficient to keep them from
the observable defects of deficiency.
Thus, he pointed out, the diet of the
prisoners in this respect appears to
be adequate, although shaving the
danger line very closely.
Sulfapyridine Dangers.
One of the side dangers of sulfapy-
ridine, the drug now widely used in
treatment of pneumonia and various
other cocci infections, is its tendency
to form kidney stones, said DR..
George B. Roth, professor of phar-
macology. This tendency is not pos
sessed by its parent drug, suifanil-
amide, he said. Actually some deaths
have been reported due to this
tendency.
More than two-thirds of the water
in the body is inside the body cells
and most Of this In muscle cells, 1t
was explained by DR.. E. G. Albritton,
professor Of physiology.
Whenever there Is q depletion OF
this stored water, he said, the in
dividual probably has the sensation
OF thirst. The sensation is felt in
the throat but this is only q focusing
Of a demand of the body as a whole.