Evening star., 1941-07-22
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory. Field
And Study
Bu Thomas r. Henry.


Spain. with lurking germs of typhus
fever left from 4 minor epidemic last
spring which may spring to life with
cold weather, threatens to be Europes
worst danger spot this winter.
The United States Public Health Serv-
Ice has just prepared for the Rockefeller
Foundation sufficient anti-vaccine to
yaccinate approximately 10000 persons
there this summer. Last spring approxi-
mately 10000 were vaccinated with rs
quarts prepared here. At that time
about 300 cases were reported, mostly
| in the neighborhood of Madrid, but the
incipient epidemic disappeared with
warm weather.
Recent reports, however, are that spo-
radio cases still are being reported If
history repeats, there is a strong possi-
bility Of a major epidemic of the
worst disease associated with modern
warfare, starting about mid-November.
There are speculations that one reason
Germany has hesitated to send troops
into Syria is the fear Of encountering
typhus. 1t killed nearly 10000 900 in the
Ukraine and the Near East at the end
OF the last war.
There has been no pretense thus far
Of really protecting Spain against typhus,
Public Health Service officials say At
the most mere 80, 900 persons have been
vaccinated, largely TO test the efficacy
Of the material; and reports on the out
come Of the experiments up to date
are conflicting. There is every reason
to believe, 1t is stated by the Public
Health Service, that the vaccine will
give a very high degree of protection.
This has been demonstrated by animal
tests here, but there is no clearcut
case where human being has been
saved from the dreaded malady.
Yet in case Of emergency, Public
Health Service officials believe, enough
of the vaccine could be made on fairly
short notice to treat millions 1t Is
made by inoculating incubated hens
eggs with the typhus virus and, as one
Government doctor expressed it: Its
just as easy to make thousand quarts
as one. All that is necessary is that hens
keep laying"
1t is only slightly more diffcult to
manufacture than the typhoid vaccine
given to all soldiers and sailors and
enough to vaccinate all Of Spain might
be gotten across the Atlantic in few
weeks.
Typhus is spread, the Public Health
doctors point out, entirely by lice, but
serious epidemics seldom start except in
an undernourished, disorganized popu-
lation. The present degree of under
nourishment in Spain is notorious. The
worst ravages Of the disease usually come
in the second year.
In the last war the malady did not
invade Western Europe, where, except in
Germany, there was no great amount Of
malnourishment and sanitary conditions
we're fairly we'll maintained. There is a
dreaded possibility, however, that this
winter the epidemic will ravage hungry
Spain and then leap across the border
and spread northward through France
In such case America will be prepared
to act.
The first definite evidence that human
OCihSS dlC SuSCcptlDIe W nOI Sc S1lCeDDd.
litis-and vice versa, horses to the human
disease-has just been obtained by the
United States Public Health Service.
The implications of these findings
says the report of Drs. c. B. Philip and
Herald r. Cox Of the Public Health
Service Staff, ARE too far-reaching to be
discussed
IN hat
against one of the most dreaded of in
fectuous diseases might be produced.
using the horse as an experimental
animal.
Both horse and human encephalitis
are inf1ammations Of the brain. They
act very similarly, but presumably are
due to different viruses. Both run in
epidemics.
The clue came from observations of a
Colorado county public health officer.
During the summer of 1910 both men
and horses in this area suffered from the
dreaded sleeping sickness"
Serum protection tests were made with
blood serum samples from both the
humans and animals. Some Of theses,
lection against the particular human
strain used-that responsible for the epi-
demic in st. Louis few years ago. One
showed equal protective powers against
the horse encephalitis. Some of the
horse serums gave equal protection
against both strains, but others only
against the human strain
A few years ago there was bad epi-
demic of horse encephalitis in the Bitter
root Valley of Western Montana, whicn
also for years has been the chief focus of
spotted fever. The Public Health Service
experimenters secured some Bitterroot
Valley horses that had been alive while
the epidemic was raging, but had not
contracted it. The serum obtained from
several of these animals protected against
both the horse and human virus.
They continued their experiments by
injecting the brains Of horses with the
human strain and in at least one in
stance developed fatal case.
Apparently, the doctors report, horses