Evening star., 1940-05-18
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Field. Laboratory
And Study
By Thomas r. Henry.

Vuo Stuoy
By Thomas r. Henry.
Nearly four quarts of vaccine which
may avert one OF the greatest horrors
Of war has just been flown from the
United States Public Health Service
laboratory at Hamilton, Mont, to Buda-
pest, at the request OF Hungarian Min
lister OF Health Johan.
It will be used, Dr.. Johan told Public
Health Service officials, in an attempt to
prevent outbreaks of typhus fever in the
great Polish refugee camps established
IN Hungary for the ragged, hungry
hordes who trooped over the border in
front Of the advancing German and Rus
sian Armies.
Typhus. louse-carried disease, has
been one Of the great scourges of the
human race for 20 centuries. It has
almost invariably accompanied wars and
famines. The last great outbreak was
In Russia in 1929. There were ap-
proximately 10000, 900 cases and close to
100000 deaths. 1t killed more people
than the World War. OF which it was an
aftermath.
Three months ago two obscure work.
ers in the United States Public Health
Service laboratory in Washington pro-
duced vaccine which prevented the
development of typhus fever in guinea
pigs. One, E. John Bell, was a labora-
tory assistant. The other, H. A.
Cox, was a bacteriologist. They pro-
duced the vaccine by innoculating un-
born chickens with typhus germs through
the shell of the egg. Literally they
Matched the vaccine.
1t was not tested with any human be-
Ing. The procedure of vaccinating a
man and then injecting him with typhus
was too dangerous, despite the favorable
reactions IN guinea pigs. The Hun
garian authorities felt that the neces-
sarlly crowded refugee camps were ideal
breeding places for the dreaded infection.
Fortunately, the first World War, so
far as the western front was concerned.
was ostensibly free Of typhus. The only
serious outbreak was In 1915 in Serbia.
All the armies, however, suffered from
trench fever" supposedly an extremely
mild form OF typhus. DR.. Rolla E. Dyer,
assistant director of the Public Health
Service laboratories, is far from con-
vinced that the soldiers were saved by
better military sanitation. 1t NAV have
been blind luck that the germ attacked
In non-fatal FORM In any event.
Public Health Service officials explain,
1t is practically impossible to keep SOL
diers In trenches or refugees in concen-
tration camps free from body lice.
The new vaccine can be made in un-
limited quantities. There have been
successful typhus vaccines In the past,
but they have been so difficult to make.
even in small quantities, that only very
small fraction Of population could be
protected with them. Gallons of this
material can be shipped to Europe if
there Is demand for it growing out of
the Hungarian experience.
Meanwhile. Surg. Gen. Thomas Par
ran told the health officers of the United
States and Canada, meeting in Washing
ton the other day, that the United States
is far from secure from a typhus epi-
oemlc. There has been great increase
IN some Southern States in the number
OF cases OF type of the disease caused
by rat lice. 1t is beginning to overrun
State lines. The surgeon general ex-
pressed the fear that it may get into
Northern industrial cities, where it will
be carried on by human lice It is the
duty OF the Southern States, he said, to
Keep an especially close watch on it.
The laboratory at Hamilton. Mont
hltherto has been devoted almost excIu-
sively to manufacturing vaccine for the
dreaded Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
disease carried by dog ticks which is
highly fatal. 1t can easily produce, it is
believed, all the typhus vaccine required
The unmatched chick technique alreadv
has been developed by producing the
spotted fever vaccine, hitherto an ex-
tremely expensive and dangerous pro-
cedure.
Inc new vaccine, experiments have
shown. can be kept on ice almost indefi-
nitely without losing its protective value,
matter OF vital importance" in vacci-
mating entire armies or populations. This
might be necessary in some of the East
ern European countries if the dreaded
malady once gains headway.
With guinea pigs the vaccine is ex-
tremely effective and the immunity It
confers lasts for at least six months.
Animals given extremely heavy doses Of
typhus organisms after being vaccinated
either did not develop the malady at all
or showed only mild symptoms of It. n
is practically certain that the results will
be the same with human beings.
Suggests Reflection on