Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-02-02
Stars, Men and Atoms ~
Drug Moy Be Landmark
In Mans War on Typhus
Army to Test Chlormycetin in Malaya
In Search for Answer to Plaques
By Thomas r. Henry

BY Thomas n. Henry
Chlormycetin. the drug which may be one Of
the landmarks in the history of modern medi-
cine. soon Is to be given severe test by the
Army.
Dr.. J. =. Smadel, director Of virus research
at the Army Medical Center and one OF the CO.
discoveries Of the substance which Is as efec-
tive against intracellular disease-causing organ
isms as the sulfa drugs and penicillin are
effective against bacteria. plans TO fy to the
Malay States this spring with supply Of the
drug for treatment Of native plantation work.
ers against scrub typhus.
Probably the greatest revolution In the medi--
cine Of this generation came about Is years
ago with the discovery of the sulfa drugs with
their specific action against bacterial diseases.
The terrors Of pneumonia, meningitis, goncr-
rhea and host Of other maladies largely have
disappeared Penicillin and streptomycin have
been even more effective.
One-Cell viruses Mere Deadly.
But the most terrible OF human maladies
have not been due to bacteria but to much
smaller and more primitive organisms than
these one-celled plsnts-the filterable viruses
and the rickettsia against which neither the
chemical preparation or the sntibiotics had any
effect.
The carrier Of the scrub typhus infection Ia
mite which probably is spread by rats. Dur
ing the war many of the East Indian planta.
tions were allowed to go back to brush. This
resulted in a big population of virus-infected
rats. Workers sent in to clear the plantations
have suffered heavy mortality rate.
The early experiments at the Army Medical
Center showed that chlormycetin was espe-
eiallv effective ct ha y,,in or,is,
responsible for scrub typhus, rickettsia tsutsu-
gamushi. This is one of the rickettsia, closely
related to the organism responsible for typhus.
1t causes = quite similar disease, but typhus
vaccine Is useless as protection against scrub
typhus.
Attacks Both Typhus Types.
The new drug showed considerable potency
against both typhus and scrub typhus organ
isms in experimental infections of incubated
eggs and In animals 1t also proved effective
against several other malsdies due to rick
ettsia, the still mysterious organisms which
find . place between bacteria and the flter-
able viruses. tiniest of living things which are
responsible for such malades as Influenza and
poliomyelitis.
Experience has shown, however, that labora-
tory results do not always work out In the
field DR.. Smadel has Just returned to WASH
ington from Yucatan where the new drug was
tested against q small outbreak Of endemic
typhus.
The Army is not yet ready to announce the
results. The proposed attack on scrub typhus
is considered of even greater importance since
this malady has proved difficult to treat in any
way and existing vaccines are extremely
expensive.
Outlook Believed Premising.
The outlook is quite promising, Army Medi-
cal Center workers believe. At least q start
has been made on specific drug treatment
OF the large class Of rickettsia diseases which
are responsible for some OF the most devastat.
ing scourges Of the human race. 1t has
even been found to be mildly effective against
one virus disease, psittacosis. and the door
may have been opened to attack on most
Of these maladies. The psittacosis organism,
however, is one of the largest OF the viruses
and just fails short OF being classified ~ q
rickettsia. -s... ..4. -a.
Scrub typhus was q major Army problem
in the Pacific during the war and the story
of its ravages is extremely dramatic. Efforts
to produce = vaccine against it cost the lives
of three American and several British workers
Nothing was accomplished until the war was
nearly over. An apparently effective vaccine
finally was prepared from the macerated
lungs and spleens OF infected rats but 1t
would be impossible to produce this in SUM-
cient quantities to protect large exposed
populations.