Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 74, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 March 1920 — SLEEP MALADY FOLLOWS “FLU” [ARTICLE]

SLEEP MALADY FOLLOWS “FLU”

Always Has Appeared in Wake of Epidemics of influenza.

IS TRACED BACK TO 1730 Italian Scientists Study History of Dls-•aso—-Best Way to Avoid the Sickness la to Keep Resistance at High Point. Rome.—Sleeping sickness, or sleeping headache, as the Italian scientists prefer to call the malady which has appeared in Rome and several other Italian cities, is believed by Prof. Giuseppe iSanarelll. the distinguished Italian bacteriologist, to be the same as that which followed other waves of influenza. Pope Benedict XIII died from influenza In 3730. The after effects of the epidemic at that time were so baneful that his successor, Benedict XIV, waived the fasting of churchmen during Lent, and similar action was taken by Pope Leo XII in 1890, when there was another wave of Influenza, or la grippe. Keep Up Resistance. Professor Sanarelli, who has been studying the disease, says that the best way to avoid sleeping sickness is to keep the powers of resistance up to the highest point, as it seems to attack chiefly persons who are in a run-down condition. He also warns the public not to be unduly alarmed about the disease, and says he Is unwilling to concede it is highly communicable. or contagious until the actual cause of the malady is determined. And he does not think the germ will be discovered until after extensive experimentation with the brains of monkeys, such an expensive work that it can be carried out only with the aid of the millions of

some philanthropic millionaire like John D. Rockefeller. Professor Sanarelli says because of the sporadic appearance of the disease it Is reasonable to assume many persons carry the germs but are immune to the disease until there is some sudden let-down in their physical condition which overcomes their power of resistance. As the malady always makes its appearance at the same season as Infan-

tile paralysis and cerebrospinal meningitis, or spotted fever, and as it persists In reappearing occasionally between epidemics. Professor Sanarelli says It is not strange that It is frequently believed to be identical with them. However, he thinks it Is quite a distinct disease, as it is confined chiefly to adults and does not leave the serious effects of cerebrospinal meningitis. *

Diagnosed In Different Countries. The malady has been diagnosed in widely scattered parts of the world in 1917, 1918 and. 1919. At least one hundred cases were reported from English cities in 1918, but it died out In June. Until this year it had not been reported in Italy since 1889 and 1890, when It appeared in Mantua. Many persons died then after a few days, sometimes even hours, of lethargic sleep which could not be overcome. Bulgaria also had an epidemic at that time, and cases occurred in the United States. The Illness begins with mental depression, which is followed by sleepiness, which develops into complete prostration. Drooping of the eyelids and frequently a crossing of the eyes occur. Loud talk and even shaking will not arouse patients suffering acutely with the malady, who answer incoherently to all inquiries and fall immediately into sleep again. The face is generally colorless and devoid of expression. Professor Sanarelli Is a member of the faculty of the University of Bologna and was formerly professor of microbiology and public hygiene at the University of Montevideo. He was also formerly undersecretary of state for agriculture in Italy.