Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 264, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 November 1911 — FIND MEASLES VIDUS [ARTICLE]

FIND MEASLES VIDUS

Two Government Physicians Report on Experiments. - i ■ »■« «r" Monkeys Were Inoculated With Blood From Patients Suffering With Diseases and Animats i Found Susceptible. New York.—The cause pf meaales has been discovered as a result of % series of experiments lasting a year. The physicians who made the tpsts are: Dr John F. Anderson, director of tß«' hygienic laboratory, Washington. D C.. and Passed Assistant Surgeon Joseph Golberger The disease is caused by a virus which 1b to be found In the blood sos those suffering from it The experiments were carried out with monkeys These were inoculated with blood from measles patients, and it was found that the animals were susceptible to the disease. "These observers state.” says the Medical Record, "that their first experiment was performed on June 8. 1910, with some blood obtained from a case of measles at the Willard Parker hospital. New: York. Two monkeys were Inoculated: In each a slight rise In temperature was noted on the eleventh day. the significance of which was not appreciated at the time. A second attempt was made with similar results

•On April 28 of this year a third attempt was made, three rhesus monkeys being inoculated Once more, as regards temperature reaction, results were obtained essentially like those of former experiments. In the case of one monkey an eruption and other symptoms resembling those of measles occurred. "On May 16 last a fourth attempt was made; two monkeys were Inoculated. and nt the same time the mon key which had exhibited symptoms on the former occasion was reinoculated wltb a view of testing his immunity and obtaining light on the previous inaction. “Ten days after Inoculation this animal developed a well marked eruption which in two days became generalised In seven days this had died out. Desquamation was noticed only on the scalp and temple. The monkey which had been reinoculated showed no reaction whatever. “Blood aspired from the heart of the two animals which showed -reaction was used for the inoculation of four fresh rhesus monkeys. All show ed reaction to a greater or less ex tent Anderson and Goldberger believe that they are justified in concluding that they have demonstrated the susceptibility of the rhesus monkey to inoculation with the blood of human measles drawn from the gen eral circulation early in the eruptive stages ” The physicians continued their experiments and discovered that there Is a period of infectivity of the blood beginning at least just before and continuing for about twenty-four hours after the first appearance of the eruption After this period, the infectivity of the blood is greatly reduced. and progressively diminishes. Not satisfied entirely with the results of these experiments, the Investigators sought to determine the exact nature of the virus of measles They published the results of the latter series of experiments last Satur day in the Journal of the American Medical Association First, they sought to discover whether or not the virus would pass through a filter In this case they diluted blood-serum from a measles patient with three times Its volume of salt solution The whole was pass ed through a Berkefeld filter They were able to inoculate a monkey with the resulting solution, hence they conclude that, the virus is capable of

passing through a Berkefeld filter. The next experiment was underta ken to determine whether or not the virus could be dried. They found that ft resisted desiccation for twenty-four hours or more. Next they made experiments to dis cover whether or not heat wouldL destroy the virus. It lost its infectivity after being subjected to a temperature of 55 centigrade for fifteen minutes. The virus lost none of Its virulence after being kept at a freezing temperature for twenty-five hours They determined also that it probably retained some of its infectivity after twen-ty-four hours at 15 centigrade.