EXILES OF SCIENCE

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4407, 14 March 1939, Page 3

EXILES OF SCIENCE

PRODUCING VACCINE FOR FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE

WORLD FAMED INSTITUTION

Rictus is an enchanted island in Greifswald Bay, on the Baltic. None of its inhabitants can leave it and hope to return again. This stern law was by no means dictated by a sinister secret society, writes Max Pflieger, in the ‘ Neues Wiener Tagblatt,’ Vienna. It was the requirements of modern science in its struggle against epidemics that transformed Iliems into a place of exile for its inhabitants.

Only nine miles from the town of Greifswald, on the mainland, the island is .075 square miles in area. On it lives a population of 200—scientists, stable boys, coastguards (whose duty it is to permit no one to leave or land on the island), workers in the machine shops, and their families Until about the last decade of the nineteenth century hoof and mouth disease made its appearance only in isolated instances. In 1889 there were 90,000 animals suffering from the disease in Germany, in the year following 500,000, in 1892 about 4,160.000! The entire livestock industry was threatened with ruin. Veterinary science was impotent to stem the spread of the disease; the germ had not been isolated, and the carriers (insects) were •extremely hard to control.

Despite the ups and downs in the course of the disease since the hip: epidemic of 1889, it is correct to say that it has raged without interruption ever since and has weighed like a mountain on the shoulders of the German livestock industry. In 1879 Professor F. Loelller. of the University of Greifswald. became head of the Government commission that had been set up to combat hoof and mouth disease. Before long he succeeded in discovering a serum which, for all its imperfections, constituted the first serious weapon against the dread disease. Following the method employed by von Behringin in developing his serum against diphtheria and tetanus. Loeffler injected germs, into the body of a healty animal and produced a serum out of the animal’s blood. In this way the antitoxins developed by the animal in combating the disease could be made available for curing or immunising other beasts. The research was of a dangerous character, since humans, too, are suscep tible to hoof and mouth disease. After the discovery of this serum the disease dropped materially from its high point in 1892. But in 1920 it reached a new high—l2,ooo,ooo animals. It became urgent to apply the improvements that had been made on Loeffller’s serum since its discovery. The University of Greifswald, that since Loeffler’s time had enjoyed a reputation as a research centre for hoof and mouth disease, no longer appeared to be a suitable place for the manufacture of the serum. The neighbouring island of lliems was therefore chosen and magnificently equipped for this purpose. In order to prevent the spread of germs a perpetual quarantine was imposed on its inhabitants. All .windows and courtyards were covered with finemeshed nets in order to keep out uninvited germ carriers like birds and insects. The central heating system is used not only to heat the laboratories, homes, and stables, but in addition all the streets and paths on the island The heat pipes are buried in the ground beneath them. It is necessary, in the interests of research, to have the ground remain dry even during winter and the rainy seasons.

Goods and cattle are brought to the island on a special steamer equipped with disinfecting chambers. On the rare occasions when an official goes on a commission to the mainland, or when a scientist visits the island for inspection, the greatest precautions are taken Every article of clothing right down to his socks has to be changed, and a special vaccination undergone. Everything is done to ensure the comfort of the inhabitants. To avoid infection, water for drinking, cooking, and washing is supplied from the mainland by pipes that are placed two metres beneath the sea. Commodities are sold very cheaply on the island, and salaries are relatively high. There is a liberal system of pensions, which permits the inhiabtants to spend their last years in peace and contentment on the mainland.

Rierns soon became a world-famed institution. All countries obtained their improved Loefflcr scrum there Although still far from perfect, its results have been satisfactory. Riem.v however, was by no means resting on its laurels The new vaccine recently developed, that has already proved its value in the epidemic that broke out in Germany early last year, is ample proof of that. Iliems produces 300-400 litres of this new vaccine every week—enough to treat 6-8,000 animals. But it is planned to increase tin's quantity drastically That is why the little island to-day is humming with building actin'tv.