TUBERCULOSIS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 17 May 1926, Page 10

TUBERCULOSIS.

AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTS

DR. SMALPAGE’S SERUM

The interest among the public generally and the hope among sufferers from tuberculosis aroused by the welladvertised efforts of M. SpahJiuger to find a cure for the disease have had a minor counterpart in Australia, in the experiments of 3>r. Ifl Plenty Smalpage, a Sydney physician, who it was announced a few months ago had discovered a serum claimed by the inventor as effective in the treatment of tuberculosis. The Federal authorities, to whom the serum was offered, were sceptical as to its value, but the latter agreed to give his formula to the Commonwealth Laboratories for manufacture of the serum, and to allow the serum to be tested by certain, chosen doctors in each of the capital cities. f)r. Smalpage: has drawn criticism upon himself by coming to an arrangement with the T.B. Association of New South Wales, whereby he would profit greatly by the treatment of patients, in brief. Dr. Smalpage’s serum consisted of an extract taken from the spleen of certain animals, passed through the blood of a horse to procure further change in it. The present Federal Minister for Health is Sir Neville How-se, an eminent member of the medical profession. Consequently his review of Dr. Smalpage’s experiments, made recently before a gathering of T.B. sufferers carried both the imprint of official information and t-lie soundness pf medical knowledge. Sir Neville said that he hoped the claims put- forward for the Smalpage serum would eventuate. A great quantity of the serum had been prepared bv the Commonwealth laboratories and physicians in each capital city of Australia were testing it. These men were specialists in tubercular diseases, and they were testing it in different classes of eases. He hoped to have definito information in a few weeks’ time. It was too early yet to give any verdict, one way or the other, but in a few weeks it was hoped to have an interim report, and in about three months a final report would he made. “When that report comes to hand it will be published,” Sir Neville Howse continued, “because the subject of it is of too high importance to be kept secret. The physicians who are trying the Smalpage serum are trying it on patients who are not withdrawn from their ordinary avocations.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 live their ordinary diet, their own sleeping aceommodaiibn, and their ordinary methods of life 1 do not want- to buoy you up with false hopes of the efficacy of this kind of treatment, because J do not know how it. will turn out. I want you to recognise that. I also want to tell von that any man coming forward with ajny thing ‘ that gives any prospect whatever of benefit to those who are suffering from the disease —any claim put forward, even with the remote possibility of success —will be taken jup by this Government in conjunction with the claimant. We shall assist in every way we can with our bacteriologists and laboratories.” Sir Neville Rowse wound up his interesting address by emphasising how the- Governments of to-day wore spending money on the prevention of disease, a.s well as tlie curing, where up to 10 to 12 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.