Evening star., 1955-01-26
Colds Are Americas
Most Expensive illness
Cost Is Put ot S. Billion
In Poy, Lost Production
By Thomos R. Henry

ne common CutQ - p1puaukN Alu6ll~
cas- most expensive disease. It viii
cost this year at least $50 million
working days and an estimated money
value Of SIS billion In wages. decreased
production and medical expenses.
Unfortunately, 1t Is one Of the most
dificult diseases TO do anything about.
Since 1t seldom kills or permanently
disables anybody. the incentive for all
eout research Is not too pressing.
Because Of the great economic loss.
however. SO Of the country's top In.
dustrialistS and bankers, under the
craftsmanship Of o. Parker McComas.
president OF Phillip Morris a. Co., have
approved $500. 900 research fund In
view Of new techniQues that offer the
first real hope Of getting to the heart
Of the problem.
Man has sought the cause and cure
Of the common cold for about 1000
years, the last 20 years or so on an
organized basis" says q statement
issued by the Common Cold Founda.
tion. "The scientific roadblock that
has continually hampered adequate
research has been lack Of small AMI
mails for laboratory use. Other medical
research can use mice, guinea pigs,
rabbits and the like, but only two
animals are susceptible to common-cold
infection. These are man and the
anthropoid apes"
New Technique.
This difficulty now may have been
overcome. however. by the development
of new tissue culture technique by
DR.. John F. EnderS and DR.. Thomas
H. Weller Of Harvard and Or. Frederick
Robbins of Western Reserve University.
for which all three recently were
awarded the Nobel prize. Their work
was aimed particularly at the polio
virus. The cold bugs" however, are
somewhat similar organisms belonging
In the classification Of filterable viruses
which multiply only inside living cells
and thus are immune to most biotics.
Hitherto this virus could be grown sue
cesSfully only in live monkeys where
1t was contaminated with monkey
nerve tissue and could not be success
fully separated.
Colds. the committee Of industrialists
stresses, are responsible for five times
as much loss of production manhours
as all strikes, walkouts and other forms
Of labor stoppage.
Imitation obviously increases the
cost" says DR.. Melvin N. Newquist,
chairman Of the foundations medical
advisory committee. Furthermore, the
enactment Of State disability laws, the
wider adoption OF sick benefit plans all
tend to convert sickness and absentee.
ism into more dollars"
He cites few pertinent facts:
Public Health Service reports show
there are half billion colds In the
United States every year.
Most Frequent Illness.
The common cold is the most fire.
quent Of mans illnesses. A seven-year
study Of families in one large industrial
city showed that 1t accounted for two-
thirds Of all sick days. Less than per
cent seemed favorably influenced by
any medical procedure known at
present.
Colds may infect any person several
times each year. On the average they
disable each person twice for total OF
Two to three days. On any given days
I'm winter there are more than 40 mill
lion suffering from colds. Two out OF
three persons have three colds each
year, with an average cost of $25. Two
out OF eight people have four colds
each year.
More women than men get colds.
The disease Is known the world over
but. IN the United States, the North
Central States have the largest num-
Der OF infections. Chicago is the leading
city. ),
Besides immediate costs to individuals
and TO industry. it Is stressed, q sue
cession Of colds tends to undermine the
nody's resistance to more deadly germs
and viruses.