The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1946-08-05

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This is another of the importan
precautions urged by the Nation
81 Foundation for Infantile Pa
ralysis during this summers cpl
demic Of the disease. Lacking ;
preventive or cure for the dis
ease the American public's pro
lection against serious infection
with the infantile paralysis lie
in a rigid adherence to the lis
Of simple precautions formulated
by the National Foundation.
These safeguards are import.
ant for they constitute the results
Of scientific research made pos
sible by the financial support o.
the National Foundation in it!
search for a prevention and con-
troll of the disease. Like the 9TH
or protective advice in its list OF
precautions, the admonition to
keep flies away from food has a
sound scientific background.
The fact that flies can carry
the virus of infantile paralysis
IN their bodies is not news to the
men and women who have de-
voted their lives to the fight
against infantile paralysis. On
various occasions the scientific
detectives of the medical wolild
determined the presence of the
injecting virus in flies. But how
important this fact is in the ac-
tual transmission of the disease
has never definitely been settled.
Granting that flies can carry the
disease, scientists pondered, can
they actually be link in trans
hitting the disease to humans?
Experts Studied Problem
Many well-known experts zeal
ously had studied this problem.
John Paul and the late James
Trask of Yale University, Albert
Sabin of the University of Gin
cinnati and John Toomey of West
ern Reserve University were
some Of the famous doctors who
had proved that flies could carry
the tiny germ-like virus of i'm.
fantile paralysis. But merely
finding that flies can carry the
agent of the disease is not enough.
Proof must be had that the in
fected flies actually take part in
transmitting the disease to peo-
pie.
Each years epidemic of infan-
tile paralysis presents many OPP
portunities for scientists in their
never-ending quest of how infan-
tile paralysis is transmitted.
Right now most authorities be-
lieve that the injecting virus gets
into the body through the mouth
and food passages. If it could be
proved that food contaminated
by virus-laden flies could pro-
duce the disease, then one more
link in the chain of transmission
would be forged and flies could
be definitely incriminated as inn
portant carriers of the dreaded
disease.
The epidemic of infantile pa
ralysis which struck Catawba
County, North Carolina, in the
summer of 1914 was catastrophe
butssit was also a great oppor-
tunity for important research.
Very early in the epidemic the
National Foundation notified DR..
John Paul, head of the Yale Po-
homyelitis Study Unit, which has
been financially supported for
many years by the National
Foundation, of the impending
outbreak.
Epidemic Provided Clues
Immediately trained team OF
investigators, Drs. Robert Ward,
Joseph Melnick and Dorothy
H0rstmann set out for the cpl
demic area. These three were
epidemiologists-the Hawkshaws
of the medical world-specially
trained scientists capable of study
ing The various factors that Gre
ate an epidemic. Their job was
to study the clues and track down
the culprit responsible for the
spreading of the epidemic.
There was a score of tasks for
these doctors to perform here in
the backwoods section of North
Carolina, but one thing they de,
eided not to overlook was the
role of flies in carrying anc
spreading infantile paralysis. Tt
do this they set up novel expert.
ment. First they went to loca
store and purchased some ba,
nanas. They then selected 8
home where young child hac
been taken i'll with infantile pa.
ralysis. In the patients home the
bananas were peeled and SLICED
in open dishes.
After sprinkling some sugar or
the top they placed dishes O!
sliced bananas on the kitchen ia.
BILE and warned the family not t
touch the bait. For two DAYS tho
bananas remained on the kitchen
table with flies constantly buzz,
ing around and settling on the
food. When the investigator:
had decided that the food hac
been contaminated as much al
possible, they packed the dishe.
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