INFANTILE PARALYSIS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1690, 24 March 1917, Page 4

INFANTILE PARALYSIS.

CHILD-PLAGUE SERUM FOUND,

One of the most wonderful of all medical discoveries was joyfully announced at the Cook County Hospital in Chicago on January 4th (says the San Francisco correspondent of the Otago Daily Times). The cure tor infantile paralysis, the scourge that lias killed and maimed thousands of children, is given to the world by Dr. John W. Nnzum, resident pathologist of the hospital. Having practised medicine three years only, this young, slight, very retiring physician has given the world what it lias prayed for since the terrors of infantile paralysis were first known. Mr R. T. Crane, jun., offered 25,000 dollars last August to the man who would first find a cure for the plague. In all probability this reward will go to Dr Nuzum. He has no thought of that. He is still working, as lie has been all day and far into the night, making more serum and planning new discoveries, says a report from Chicago. The January (ith edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association had the story of his serum discovery in technical language, hut without: a word as to what a marvellous find i( was. A few months ago three physicians in different hospitals simultaneously discovered the organism that causes the disease. They arc Dr. E. Rosenow, of the Mayo Bros.’ institution in Rochester, Minnesota; Dr. George Mather, of the Sprague Memorial Hospital, in Chicago; and Dr. Nnzum. Dr. Nuzum, however, was the first to develop the serum. He has isolated the organism out of the spinal canal, which makes early diagnosis possible. A case now can be determined in 12 hours after the spinal (laid is drawn. He has the serum that cures the disease, which can be checked to prevent an epidemic, because of the early diagnosis. It is possible that people will eventually be immunised againsl infantile paralysis by vaccination. The doses of the serum are about one-third of an ounce, administered every day. It takes several months to make the serum, the animals being inoculated every seven days. One of the excellent things about this serum is that it is absolutely harmless. It leaves no Jjad effects, and can do no damage.