Manawatu Daily Times The Spahlinger Treatment

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 3479, 13 December 1926, Page 6

Manawatu Daily Times The Spahlinger Treatment

The preventive qualities of M. Spahlinger’s vaccine now seem to have been established beyond doubt. His success in immunising cattle against tuberculosis may reasonably be regarded as the forerunner of an application of similar methods to human beings and the time may not be far off when vaccination against tuberculosis will be as common as vaccination against smallpox. This in itself will be a tremendous step forward in the campaign against the white plague, and will form an important link in the chain of preventive medicine which is being forged by modern medical science. The present experiments which apparently were conducted under the supervision of unquestionable authorities have produced results described as amazing, justifying the belief that before long humanity will at least be greatly relieved of one of its most appalling maladies. If the efficiency of M. Spahlinger’s vaccine as a preventive medicine is practically assured, the curative qualities of his sera have not yet been established to flic same extent. Though claims have been made at various times in this direction, any reported cures were accepted with the utmost caution and reserve. M. Spahlinger’s modesty and uncommunicativeness greatly added to this conservatism, for he was the last to seek the limelight and the first to deprecate any sensationalism. He has, on a number of occasions, refused the most generous offers to commercialise his discovery because his life ambition is to produce vaccines so cheaply that they will be within the reach of everyone. It is mainly for this reason that he has spent the last fifteen years in concentrating his work on simplifying the methods of immunisation and curing, fighting at times a lone-handed battle against serious prejudices and financial difficulties. M. Spahlinger’s research work created world-wide interests, and on his difficulties becoming known, offers of help were made by various Governments, provided he would give some reasonable proof of the genuineness of his discovery. The British Government in 1022 sent Sir George Newman, Chief Medical Officer of the British Ministry of Health, to Geneva, in order to furnish a report on Spahlinger’s claims. This authority reported that a special medical inquiry was made in 1920 and that he had considered all the testimony then made available. This evidence included clinical reports from physicians practising at Geneva, Montana, Hamburg and London. Dr. MacNalty, another medical officer of the British Ministry, through the courtesy of M. Spahlinger was enabled in 1922 to visit the Bacteria Therapeutic Institute at Geneva and submitted a full report, the essential features of which were briefly as follows: “M. Spahlinger claims to have discovered: (a) A complete scrum containing 22 different anti-toxins to tuberculosis; to these he adds anti-toxins against mixed infections. This serum is used In the treatment of acute and advanced cases of tuberculosis. According to M. Spahlinger, this serum only combats the toxins of tuberculosis circulating in the body and exerts no bactericidal effect, so that in the majority of cases the patient relapses when the administration of scrum is discontinued, (b) A complete vaccine containing four different antigens. M. Spahlinger states that this has a bactericidal effect and is suitable for early cases and for those advanced cases of tuberculosis which have received a preliminary course of serum treatment.” M. Spahlinger, however, refused to disclose the details and the technique adopted in the preparation of the serum and vaccine, and Dr. MacNalty declined to express any opinion as to their scientific value. At the same time ho acknowledged that the clinical results of treatment both by the scrum and the vaccine had in some cases been striking. As a result of Dr. MacNalty and Sir George Newman’s reports, the British Government held out some hope for assistance provided M. Spahlinger was prepared to submit his methods to a committee of reorganised medical experts who would assess their value and results in a number of cases to be selected by an independent physician. These convictions M. Spahlinger declined. Since then lie has continued the preparation of partial serum in small quantities as the preparation of the complete scrum appears to be a long and complicated process.