The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1943-01-07
SocioI Diseases
In War Time
BY JACOB A. GOLDBERG, Ph.D.

authority which it is important to
bring to the attention of every work
| er in the country = especially war
| workers.. Other articles in this
series by Dr. Goldberg will be pub
| liShed in Forthcoming issues):
! I'VE need manpower and more man
power'-that is the cry throughout the
warning nations If we. are to win this
war-as win it we shall-all prevent
able diseases, particularly those at
tacking men of military age and those
| beyond whose services are needed in
industry must be eliminated. This ap-
plies particularly to the venereal dis
eases. If it is recognized that about
five per cent of the population has at
some time been infected with ven
ereal disease, more especially syphilis
or gonorrhea, ii is easy to see what
an influence these diseases have had
and continue to have on illness, dis
ability, shortage of manpower, social
and economic burdens we carry. In a
series of articles to follow, specific
samples will be given of how syphilis
and gonorrhea have seriously affected
previously virile men, busy at their
trades and occupations, heads of
families, and worthwhile citizens.
Perhaps the sharpest way to focus
attention on this subject is to present
some recently compiled figures A high
official of the Seective Service has re-
ported that the Army enrolment thus
far has shown 2S4 600 cases of syphilis
and 1000 cases of gonorrhea. These
are astounding figures, but note one
thing, however-as a general rule, for
every person infected with syphilis,
three are infected with gOnOrrhea
That means if there were 2S4, 900 men
infected with syphilis, nearly 100000
were infected with gOnOrrhea, from
which figure we must substract those
of the 2S4,OO0 cases of syphilis who
contracted both diseases 1t is, there
fore, fair to assume that if we have
found 2S4,OOO eases of syphilis through
the United States Army enrolment
facilities, there have been about 7OO,-
600 cases of gonorrhea among these
figures represent only part of the
large total among both men and
women. These are astounding figures.
Fortunately, most cases OF gonorrhea
can now be quickly cured by compe-
tent physicians.
The chief of the Bureau of Medicine
and Surgery of the United States Navy
has recently reported that between
January l and September 10 of this
year, taking figures from 20 cities only
in The United States, over 62,OOO days
were lost by men in the United States
Navy due to venereal disease infec-
tionS. Remember, this is in war time
when every minute counts, when the
medical personnel of the Navy is busy
with outher things than treating ven
ereal diseases, and when hospital beds
in the Navy are needed for more seri-
Gus ailments.
In studies made among industrial
workers in many parts of the country.
altogether too many have been found
to have syphilis Even when only four
or five per cent are found with posi-
tive blood tests for syphilis we must
remember that represents but part of
the total who have contracted the dis
ease. Fortunately, those who received
effective treatment from II competent
physician may have negative blood
findings Still, they swell the total
number who still have signs of syphilis
aS found by blood examinations, by
three we gel II to 10 per cent of the
male population now infected with
gonorrhea or some time previously SO
infected. In other words, between II
and 20 per cent of adult males among
industrial workers seemingly have Il
venereal disease now, or had been in
fectcd i'm the past and now may be
presents.
These figures, partial as they are,
stand out aS definite signs of hazards
facing our nation. If we are members
of the armed forces or about to be
inducicd into the armed forces of our
nation in its lime of need, or if we are
employed on The home front, either in
utItllSp industries OF In carrying on
essential tasks, we must keep free
from vcnercal diseases.
Workers who know they have con
tracted syphilis or gonorrhea, owe a
definite responsibility to themselves
and to their country to get treatment
- and adequate treatment at the
hands of competent physician or by
attending Il hospital or Health Depart
ment clinic; they owe it TO their fam
lies to follow through this treatment,
IN order to avoid not only injecting
their wives and children, but also
making them ultimate sufferers of such
neglect; and finally, they owe it to
their fellow workers, because Il mis-
take on Il hazardous job, due to Syphil-
lite eye disease, syphilitic heart dis
ease, Syphilitc disease of the central
nervous system MAY result in serious
or even fatal accidents.