ANTI-VERMIN SHIRTS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3150, 31 July 1917, Page 3

ANTI-VERMIN SHIRTS

For sovno time the Mayoress's Countess of Liverpool Committee has been making and sending an(i-voraiin shirls to the- men at tlio front. They have sometimes been asked as to tlio efficacy of theso, and it is siguineant that in tho "British Medical Journal" of May 5 thei'o appears an article by Captain J. A. Gunn, M.1., 5T.D., DSc, 8.A.M.C.T., of Oxford, on this very subject. He says that under certain conditions of warfare tho difficulty of toping the soldier free from pediculosis (otherwise vermin) is a serious problem, and is now too well known to require comment, and tho prevention of this is of importance, not only on account of tlio distress which the condition directly causes.' but also by reason of tho part it may play in tho dissemination of disease First the writer said lo investigated a solution to bo sprayed en to the underclothing. Then a !ndv brought him.some verfs made by a working party at Oxford, and inquired if they could be dipped. These were maaa of buttermuslin, and tho intention was that the Raiments could bo thrown away after being worn. Such a material could be (lipped without the use of such h quantity of solution' as to render the cost prohibitive for wide use. Dr. Gunn, in the article, states that the' solution ho adopted was i.aphthaleno and sulphur, 1 per cent, of ..'ach in benzol. This, first intended for a spray, wtis used to dip the vests. The solution soon evaporates, but leaves the garment impregnated with snlDhnr ond naphthalene in minute particle?. It was found that underveate so treated did not cauno any irritation when worn next the skin, and retained the disinfectant sufficiently long for practical purposes, nnd undervests of this material are very comfortable to wear. They are no extr" weight in cold climates, and in hot climates have been worn alone. Since June, 1915, tho writer says these underrcsls so treated (when benzol became umbtainablo the. second grade of petrol was used) havo been sent out in large numbers to officers and men at the seats of war. Those who received them have been unanimous in favour of the high and complete protection which these rests have afforded against vermin and the writer, therefore, says he dffirea to make the method more widely known. Some weeks before writing the article Dr. Gunn said two officers admitted to his ward suffering from trench ieyev complained of having been infested with pediouli, and incidentally remarked that the only officer who seemed to esuape infection, was ono who was v earing one of the vests above described.

An "extract quoted from an officer's letter is as follows:—"Tho shirts are doing good work, and there is quito a demand for them. The billet? are not very clean, and consequently scabies is quite common. For scabies the shirts are excellent. For lice they do the work, but in'some cases take time befote they actually kill."

From this letter and others it may he gathered that a man with such a vest keeps it until he is actually infected. This is unavoidable with a restricted distribution of the-garments. The 'Wellington Committee endeavours to supply a sufficient number a month to keep the men always supplied, but this is not always possible. Indeed wore money and workers are needed to keep up a fuli supply, but the work goes on regularly, and rTis good to know that our men are receiving, these vests, which, as shown by this article, are ?o efficacious in keeping them free from this pest.

In concluding the article Dr. Gunn says:—"lt is nossiWe that snmo such device might find its uses in civil practice. It is at once a method of prevention and treatment. For '.••■ample, n:y friend Captain Girdlestono lias applied the vests in patients underneath plaster jackets. In the cases in which he has so far used these vests there have bten no cases of pediculosis, nntl no skin irritation has been produced."

The solution used by the Wellington Committee is one recommended by Professors Kirk and Easterfield and Jlr. Aston and is believed to bo most efficacious.- A shirt saturated with this has remained fully impregnated after some months.