Evening star., 1952-01-04
New Kind Of MuIuriu
Coming Out Of Koreo
Seven Coses Found to Dute
In Returned Veteruns
By Thomos R. Henry

OF Korea.
Its first symptoms appear from two
to eight months after the mosquito bites
responsible for the infection.
The ordinary incubation period for
malaria is from eight to II days.
This is reported by three Marine
Corps medical officers at the Marine Air
Station at Ell Toro, Calf, where seven
cases have been found to date In re-
turned Korean veterans.
The men come back apparently in
good health, according to the report by
Its. e. e. Eddleman, jr.. william II. Hale
and Comdr. William M. Snowden Of the
Ell Toro base. Then suddenly they come
down with the typical malaria symptoms
which could not possibly have resulted
from infection In this country.
Long periods Of incubation have been
reported in the past, one as long as az
months after the initial infection, but
these have been extremely rare and
probably due to some idioSyncraSy Of
the victim. This hardly can be the case
when seven cases develop together in
men coming from the same part Of the
world.
The probability is. the Marine medical
officers report. that these patients were
infected during the summer Of 1850 be-
cause the Korean winters are adverse
to the breeding Of mosquitoes and the
transmission Of infection. This places
the most probable incubation period In
these patients at from eight to 10
months. This Is especially borne out,
they say, by the experience of their first
patient. He came back to the United
States eight months before the first
symptoms appeared. During this entire
time he was confined In an Army hos
pital for other ailments. In the hospital
extreme precautions were taken against
mosquitoes. In this case, however, the
man was treated with standard malaria
preventive, chlorquine. ON the remote
possibility that he might have developed
malaria.
It was thought later that the drug
might have been responsible for the long
delay in the appearance of the first
symptoms. Shortly afterwards. however,
two patients were admitted with an
equally long period since any possible
exposure, who had received no drug Of
any kind.
The symptoms Of this sleeping malaria
are indistinguiShable from those of ordi-
nary malaria. The long delay renders
it more likely to be spread through ths
United States as Korean veterans return
to their homes, apparently in good
health. It is unlikely that any precau-
tions will be taken against the infection
stored in their blood.
+
A major expansion Of research on
proximinity fuzes for guided missiles
now is planned.
This is revealed by DR.. Edward q,
Condor, retiring director of the United
States Bureau Of Standards, in connec-
tion with the 50th anniversary Of that
institution. ANY actual advances in this
Held naturally are very highly classified
but 1t now is recognized that guided
missiles seeking out their own targets
must be major element In any air de-
tense Of the future.
"The 'electronic ordnance work to
take care Of the peculiar requirements
for these fuzes," says DR.. Condor in
Scientific Monthly published by the
American Association for Advancement
Of Science" has greatly increased. A
splendid new laboratory for this work
was provided on our ground by the
Army Ordnance Department at the end
OF the war but these facilities are now
so inadequate that the total laboratory
space must be enlarged by o factor of
Tour or five. The bulk Of this expansion
Will take place outside Washington"
Masterpiece of Ingenuity.
Development Of the original proximity
fuze constituted masterpiece of sci
entific ingenuity which took place in
two phases. Proximity fuzes Of one sort
came from the Bureau Of Standards
while the major developments were pro-
ceeding at the Johns Hopkins University
laboratory Of Applied Physics near
Washington. Work at the latter insti-
tuition still is in progress.
Any sort Of proximity fuze is q tiny
combined radio sending and receiving
station which broadcasts radio waves
as to speeds through the air In the
head Of missile. Returning radio
echoes discharge the shell when 1t gets
close enough to its target.
It now Is recognized that such mis-
siles will make far more difficult to
job of strategic bombing since all major
industrial cities are bound to have them
as part Of their defense. They also
promise to make both mortar and ar.
tillery fire far more deadly. They are
likely to replace entirely the time fuzes
of the last war.
The site of the new proximity fuze
laboratory has not yet been deter
mined, DR.. Condor says.
The bureau already is constructing
a special laboratory at Boulder, Colo,
DR.. Condor announced, for certain
work" now going on for the Atomic
Energy Commission. The building is
being pushed on high priority schedule.