TUBERCULOSIS.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18682, 4 May 1926, Page 5

TUBERCULOSIS.

AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTS DR. SMALPAGE'S SERL'M. (TROII OUR OWS CORRBSWDEKT.) SVDNKY. April -'3. 'Hie interest among tho publn generallv and tho hone anion- sufferer-, from tuberculous aivused hy the welladvertised etrorts 01 M. >Spablinder to lind a cure for the disease have had a minor counterpart i» Australia in the experiments of Dr. K. ilenty Smalpagc, a .Sydney physician, wh», it " iis ar '* nounced a lew months a-", had di-'-uv-crcd a scrum claimed by the inventor as effective. i» ilto treatment of tuberculosis. The Federal authorities, to whom the scrum was offered, weie >tcpticnl as to its value, but alter much negotiation with Dr. :?malpagc the latter agreed to give Ins formula to the. Commonwealth Laboratories for manufacture of the serum, ami to allow the serum to be tested by certain chosen doctors in each of tho capuul cities. Dr. Smalpago has drawn criticism upon himself by coming to an arrangement with the T.H. Association o New South Wales, whereby he wuub profit grcatlv bv the treatment ol patients. In brief.. Dr. Smalpage s serum consisted ol an extract taken from the spleen of certain animals, passed through tho blood of a horse to procuro a further change in it.

Health Mlatster's Review. The present Federal .Minister for Health is Sir Neville .Dowse, :ni eminent mciuH-r of the m<nli'.al j.nih^sn.ii. Consequently his review ol \ii\ rr-inal-puge's experiments, made recently ocl'oro a gathering of T.H. sulfeicis carried both the imprint of oflicial mlorniation and the soundness ol medical knowledge. Sir Neville said that he hoped tho claims put forward for the Smalpago serum would eventuate. A great quantity of the serum had been prepared by the Commonwealth laboratories and physicians in each capital city of Australia were testing it. 'll ipso men were specialists in tubercular diseases, and they -were, testing it ■ » different classes 'of cases. He hoped U) have definite information in a few weeks' time. It was too early yet to givo any verdict, one way of the other, but in a few weeks it was hoped to have an interim report, and in about three months a final report would bo made. ''When that report comes to hand it will bo published," Sir Neville Howsc continued, "because the subject of it is of too high importance to be kept secret. .. . The physicians who are

tfving the Smalpage scrum are trying it on patiejits who are not withdrawn from their ordinary avocations. The tram-guard who is suffering from the disease is being treated and allowed to follow his occupation; and so with other sufferers, no matter what their callings. They live at their own homes, they have their ordinary diet, their own sleeping accommodation, and their ordinary methods of life. Ido n<jt want to buoy yon up with false hopes of the efficacy of this kind of treatment, beeause I do not know how it will turn out. I want you to recognise that. I also want to tell you that any man coming forward with anything that gives any prospect whatever of benefit to thoso who are- suffering from tho disease—any claim put forward, even with the remote possibility of success—will be taken itp by this Government in conjunction with tho claimant. "We shall assist in every wfty wb can with our bacteriologists and laboratories." Sh' Neville Howse closed his interesting address by emphasising how the Governments of to-day wero spending money on the prevention of disease, asVell as the curing, where up to ten or twelve years ago, nobody had been able to squeeze anything from any Government for prevention. Gradually they were getting into the idea that one function of any Government was to provide for the prevention of disease.