Evening star., 1952-10-13
A Polio Preventive?

The latest news from the scientific front
strongly suggests that the day may be fast ap-
preaching when polidmyelitis, like smallpox and
other once dread diseases, will be conquered by
vaccination or some similar immunization tech
nique OF course, since the conquest itself has
yet to be made, unrestrained optimism would be
premature. Nevertheless, judging from what the
experts themselves are saying, the outlook for
success now seems far brighter than at any prior
time in the history of mans long fight against
this crippling and often fatal scourge
As reported last spring to the American As
ISOLATION of 1mmunologsts, real hope for an
effective polio preventive first began to take
shape on the basis of experiments with monkeys
and chimpanzeeS. These experiments-carried
out chiefly by research workers at Yale and
Johns Hopkins Universities involved an i'm
munizng virus substance that was found to be
genuinely effective in protecting the animals
against the onset of the diseases paralyzng
stage. The chief significance of ne discovery
was that it pointed the way to similar protection
for people, although it still left unanswered
number of difficult questions about perfecting
human vaccine.
The new development appears to answer the
most important of those questions: Can such
a vaccine be mass-produced and can it effec-
lively immunize? The answer would seem to be
yes" or-more preciSely-a decidedly strong
promise Of eyes" At any rate, under the direc-
tion of DR.. Herald r. Cox scientists at the Led
erie Laboratories of Pearl River, New York. have
succeeded for the first time on record in grow
ing pure polio virus in living chick embryos.
To be able to grow it in that medium means that
1t can be grown on as large a scale as necessary.
And that is probably what will be done with it
now, for DR.. Cox and his co-workers have found
that the substance-believed to be the deadliest
0f fha cfroin tho hoeL Ln>,
traordinarily successful in making chimpanzees
and monkeys immune to polio More than that,
in tests with limited number of children, they
have found that it builds up in the bloodstream
the type Of antibodies required to prevent in
fantile paralysis
This is news that may we'll take its place in
history as one Of mans great steps forward in
his never-ending struggle against the ravages of
disease. AS far as polio Is concerned the develop
ment promises that there will be steady progress
toward the perfection of an immunizer whose
effectiveness-after a single application-may
last several years or possibly permanently. Thus,
although scientists properly caution against
raising hopes too high or expecting too much
too soon, the conquest of the scourge-which
not very long ago looked like an unfathomable
mystery-now seems to be a probability that
may materialize in the relatively near future.
Coupled with the continuous gains being
made in treating victims of polio, this progress
toward the complete eradication of the disease
serves to remind man that his God-given genius
is still capable Of doing an enormous amount
of good Sometimes, because his world is split
into armed camps, he may seem to be bent solely
on devising ever-deadlier instruments of self
destruction. What he is doing in the field Of
health, however, shows otherwise. If he could
only establish a decent peace, he would by ma
ture be inclined to use his talents for the well.
being of society everywhere.