Evening star., 1940-09-01
Dr.. Rutland Hits
Bootlegging'' Of
SuIfani|anlide
VenereuI Disease
'SeIf-Treutment'
Danger Cited


Rutland, District health officer, an
nounced last night he would press
a drive against "bootlegging" of the
product over some drug counters
here to persons using it in self
treatment" for gonorrhea.
His warning came in connection
with a report on a comprehensive
survey of venereal disease in the
National Capital by the United
States Public Health Service and
District Health Department.
The survey showed that under ex-
listing preventive and control meas
ures here, at least 1 in every 10
adults here will acquire syphilis
some time in life, and that more
than 10000 persons seek medical
treatment for venereal diseases here
each year.
Further investigation" of the
clinical facilities of the District was
recommended by the survey. A spe-
cial set of recommendations from
the District Medical Society and the
Medico-C -Chirurgical Society pro-
posed several ways in which our
efforts can be made more effective" 4"
Unauthorized Sale Charged.
DR.. Rutland explained that sui
fanilamide had proved highly effec-
tive in the treatment of gonorrhea
when prescribed by physician
who could keep the patient under
observation, but was entirely too
dangerous for self f-treatment." 1t
affects the blood stream, he ex-
planned. sometimes causing "cyano-
sis" or blue lips.
Progress in use of sulfanilamide
was explained in the official sur
vey. without attempting to credit
a decrease in rates for gonorrhea to
the effectiveness of sulfanilamide,"
said the report, there has been a
marked reduction in the number of
persons seeking authorized medical
care for the disease. Some idea of
the extent to which sulfanilamide is
used for the treatment of gonor-
rhea may be gained by considering
the fact that nearly 100 tons of this
Grug were sold during the year
1888"
DR.. Rutland charged that unau-
thorized sales of the powerful drug
was going on in certain drug stores,
although reputable druggists were
abiding strictly by the law. Under
the Food and Drug Act, sulfanila-
mide cannot be sold to customers,
but can only be dispensed by drug
gists on a physicians prescription
Penalties for violation of this act
run from Imprisonment for one year
or $1,000 fine to Imprisonment for
three years or $4,000 fine or both.
Pharmacists Aid Campaign.
Organized pharmacists in Wash
ington have been conducting a
vigorous campaign on dangers of
the drug for years. starting prior
to the legislation which put it on
the prescription list, according to
DR.. Augustus c. Taylor, president of
the District of Columbia Board Of
Pharmacy and editor of the Ma
tional Capital Pharmacist, official
organ of the District of Columbia
Pharmaceutical Association: The
retail druggists also have co-operated
in movement to cooperate with
the Food and Drug Administration,
Dr.. Taylor explained, in an effort
to restrict the drug to its proper
use.
The survey of the District has
hanr1 iro 1f
"Venereal Disease Information, :"
containing other scientific data for
use of State and local health de-
partments and the physician in
private practice. 1t points out that
"a comparison of the results of
over-the-drugstore counter prescrib-
ing for venereal disease in the Dis
trict with that in other metropolitan
areas indicated that this practice is
less frequent here than elsewhere. !"
Worst in Low-Income Groups.
Each year in the District, it was
pointed out, an estimated 6,270 per-
sons seek treatment for syphilis and
4,300 ask for medical service for
gonorrhea. A great proportion of
all cases is concentrated in the lower
income groups and among young
people.
Syphilis attacks the youth" the
report stated. Each year in the
District of Columbia half of all
persons who acquire syphilis are
under the age of 25, and over half
of these are in their teens"
From an economic point of view,
the study reveals that the preva-
lence rate for veneral disease among
Washingtonians earning less than
$1,000 year is 346 per 1000 per-
sons. For persons receiving $1,000
to $2,999, the rate drops to ga per
1000 persons. Persons with in
comes over $4,000 have a rate of
4.7 per 1000.
"Only one person in five of those
who seek treatment for syphilis
does so when the disease is in the
early stages" the report emphasizes
Every infected person who neglects
treatment during the first year of
the disease represents a potential
new case of syphilis. The pre-
ponderance of cases in the later
stages emphasizes the need for more
effective epidemiologic practices.
Case finding is an expensive, time
consuming arduous task, but it re-
turns big dividends in terms of
syphilis control" Emphasis also
was laid on the Importance of case
holding"
Clinics Care for 5,524.
Private physicians have under
treatment 1924 cases; clinics care
for 5,524. Seventy-three per cent of
the private cases were under the
care of eight per cent of the private
physicians.
THE clinics hold the patients
under treatment for a longer period
of time than do the private ply
sicians," declared the report, but
satisfactorily treat only half as
many. Available information indi-
Gates that the treatment in the
clinics lacks regularity. The per-
l.