INFANTILE PARALYSIS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16492, 9 November 1927, Page 11

INFANTILE PARALYSIS

mayAsoon t?f. controlled. NEW YOLK, Sept,. 26. A special despatch to the Morning World from Boston to-day says: ‘‘Tlie germ of infantile paralysis lias been definitely classified, thereby simplifying the task of, science in its attempts to overcome the disease,” Dr. W. L. Ayeock, head of the Harvard Infantile Paralysis Commission, said on Sunday. The main problem now is to find a suitable animal to yield an anti-toxin. ‘‘The only animal which takes ,the disease appears to bo the monkey,” said Dr. Avcock, “and its mortality is so slight that it is an unsatisfactory subject. When we discover the proper animal for serum purposes, infantile paralysis will bo controlled.” Dr. Ayeock pointed out that a somewhat similar problem confronted science when the diphtheria germ was first isolated, and finally it was found that diphtheria serum could lie made from the blood of tlie horse. “The infantile paralysis germ is too small to be detected even by the most powerful microscope, Dr. Ayeock said, “but its presence was proved by evidence of growth.” He denied Hint an infantile paralysis epidemic existed. He pointed out that in Massachusetts there lmd been one-fourth the number of cases reported this year as compared with 1916. Parents need not worry, lie said. Fatalities from automobiles are far greater than the number caused by this disease. Many children who have once had the disease will not have it again, lie added.