Evening star., 1948-08-29
By GEORGE Kennedy


C. c. Dauer, Health Department
statistician. He was referring to
the polio totals which yesterday
climbed to 90. OF this number 50
were from Washington and A from
nearby Maryland and Virginia.
I'VE are having about six times
as many cases as we did last sum-
mer. But last summer we hardly
had any.
I'VE don't even start talking of
an epidemic until we have 20 cases
to 100000 population. We have just
passed to 100000.
This is nothing to 1914 and 1915.
Let me show YOU
/ DIR. Dauer went to the wall and
pointed to one OF his many charts.
This one was entitled Incidence of
Poliomyelitis Each Week, 1940-l -l948." "
/ The towering inked-in columns of
the summer of 1914 looked like the
skyline of New York. The year 1915
looked like Chicago. This summer
looked like the silhouette of tank
town.
/ And the disease is not as severe, +"
he said. "Gallinger has had only
one respirator iron lung case.
At Children's Hospital where they
have four respirators they haven't
used one of them this summer.
All their respirators were going in
1944-45. And we have had but two
deaths"
One Death Listed.
/ Children's Hospital had "a polio
cases and had discharged q when
visited it last week. There was
one death.
The chief resident physician, DR..
Frank Murphy, tall young man
who was in the Navy Medical Corps
in the war, has organized team
of internes and nurses that has kept
abreast of the problem. They have
the commentator of Mrs. Hazel
Wyatt, executive secretary of the
Washington chapter Of the National
Foundation for Infantile Paralysis,
who has seen lot of polio work.
Dr. Murphy doesn't think the hos
pital has had enough cases to indi-
cate the relative virulence of the
disease this summer in Washington.
He thinks they have been lucky.
Their first patient was a 9-year-
old boy with a slight fever whose
mother became alarmed at his diff
Guilty in swallowing and a change
in his voice. The diagnosis tests
an important one is an examina-
ton of the spinal huid-showed
positive. He had polio.
Unable to Swallow.
The area of his symptoms showed
him to have the dreaded bulbar
phase of the disease. This is when
the portion of thes spinal column
within the skull is attacked and
the breathing muscles may become
affected. For three days he could
not swallow and he was fed with
lntravenous injections of protein
Solution. The right side of his face
was rigid with Spasm. For a few
hours it was nip and tuck. A
respirator had been hooked up and
they were ready to pop him in it if
his breathing failed.
Instead he began to get better.
When he was discharged his only
residual uasting effect) was a nasal
twang to his voice.
The cases at the Children's Hos
pltal Illustrate something long
known by the doctors which parents
I ma dlfncult to accept. 1t has been
well put by DR.. William Green of
Harvard Medical School. He saws.
There is no way in the initial
stage before paralysis occurs to esti-
mate the degree of paralytic in
volment which will ensue. nor in
TACT to determine accurately in the
early stage of paralysis the degree
OF recovery which may occur.
1T is natural to ascribe the re-
suits attained to whatever treat
ment is followed. Even if no treat
ment Is given, a very considerable
percentage of patients will
either have no recognizable paraly-
Sis or complete recovery"
Girls Legs Paralyzed.
! A 2-year-old girl brought in with
complete paralysis of the legs. and
an 8-year-old boy with comnlete
paralysis of the arm and shoulder
had their difficulties cleared nm
within a day or two after admit
tance. A boy interested in sports
who talked of making the team was
admitted in good shape and devel-
oped paralysis Of the legs in a few
days. A 14-month-old girl with the
bulbar involvement suffered only a
slight weakening of the muscles of
one cheek. She had no throat
trouble.
There is nothing new this year
in the treatment OF poliomyelitis.
There was . furry Q couple OF