Show New Disease With Severe Effects and Very V cry Long Name New York A A new disease which may have affected as many as one out of every five adults in the country without their knowing what they had came in for discussion at the meeting of the American Pub Public lic lie Health association here The disease has the jaw-breaking jaw name chori It tt is caused by a virus In about half talf the cases it causes fever and symptoms similar to influenza In Inthe Inthe the other half it affects the membranes mem- mem membranes branes Dranes that cover the brain and causes more severe symptoms ms such s cb as bad headaches stiff neck nausea and vomiting and even slight tern tem temporary paralysis So far no death has las been reported in a proved case of this disease It is difficult or impossible to dis- dis distinguish distinguish this new disease by clin- clin clinical clinical ical cal means alone from another brain arain membrane inflammation acute aseptic meningitis Drs D s. s R. R D. D Baird and Thomas M. M Rivers of the hospital of the Rockefeller Institute for or Medical Research pointed out Its Virus Is Isolated The disease was discovered and its virus isolated by Drs Charles Armstrong and R. R D. D Lillie of the United States National Institute of Health They found the virus while studying viruses from St. St Louis encephalitis en en- encephalitis encephalitis epidemic patients in 1934 Two years before this Commander Paul F. F Dickens of the United States Navy medical corps had re re- reported re- re reported reported ported two cases of what looked like acute aseptic meningitis but which he thought might be another disease caused by a virus Since then the virus has been recovered from pa pa- patients patients patients and from monkeys mice and other animals in this country Eng- Eng England England land and and France Diagnosis of the disease say Dr r. r Armstrong Drs Baird and Rivers and others who have studied it depends on examination of the spinal fluid and on a mouse pro- pro protection protection test This consists in mixing mix mix- mixing mixing ing the patients patient's serum with the virus and injecting it into mice If It the he patient had the disease his blood would have antibodies in it that neutralize the virus In that case the mouse would remain well But if the mouse gets sick it shows that the patients patient's blood had no vi- vi vi vi- rus-neutralizing rus antibodies and therefore that he did not have Dr Armstrong and associates made this test on blood from near near- nearly nearly nearly ly 2000 well persons who were having hav hav- having having ing routine blood tests for Cor other reasons They found that among among the adults almost 20 per cent had neu neu- neutralizing neutralizing neutralizing antibodies in their blood although none of them recalled being be be- being being ing sick with symptoms of any brain or nerve disease This indicates indicates indi indi- indicates cates that nearly one out of every five adults may have had the dis dis- disease ease The reason it has been missed in these patients is probably be be- because because because cause when it does not affect the brain it behaves so much like in influenza influenza in- in influenza that it would be diagnosed as such |