THE COMMON COLD

Manawatu Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 4400, 4 October 1934, Page 4

THE COMMON COLD

The common cold is not a germ disease and is not infectious, according to the claims of two American doctors, who have conducted extensive experiments. Professor Kerr and Dr. Lagcn, of the. University of California, in a paper read before the American Association for the Advancement of, Science, and quoted by the Literary Digest, stated that attempts to transmit colds by exposure or inoculation had failed, and that in their opinion this disease results from the inability, of the body quickly to adapt itself to changes in temperature, humidity, and other conditions. When a number of men having a history of high susceptibility to colds were placed in an isolated room under controlled conditions of temperature and humidity, they could not be made to catch the disease. Attempts to infect them consisted of bringing into their presence individuals suffering from colds, and of inoculating them with the virus which supposedly is the cause of the disease. Not one of the experimental subjects under these conditions showed symptoms of colds. This evidence was corroborated by a study of the history of 1300 cases of common cold. The result of the research was the conclusion that colds probably are not germ infectious, and are not infectious. “Bacteria may lie a cause of secondary complications, and filterable viruses njay sometimes play a primary role,” the experb mentors' admitted, but “environment factors and the general body responses to them must be considered as preparing the soil to a great degree.”