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Show NUKE PUNS FOR VIGOROUS WAR oi lira Eminent Plague Experts, Scientists and Bacteriologists Bacteriol-ogists Confer With Officials. RESOLUTIONS WILL BE ADOPTED TODAY Men Eminent in Medical Profession Acknowledge Cause of Infantile Epidemic Epi-demic Is Unknown. WAHUlNtiTON, Aug. 17. Plans for a more vigorous campaign to prevent the spread of infantile paralysis were made here today at a eonfoi-ence of health authorities of most of the states with officials jf tho federal public, health service. Resolutions will be adopted tomorrow to-morrow by the conference, in which eminent plague expert s, scientihts and bacteriologists are participating, out lining definite proposals for checking dissemination of the disease. While few of thuee present today pi 1 pressed alarm that the epidemic might assume country -wido proportions, tbey uniformly declared measures were ncees- j ary to guard against a widespread out-: break. Admission was freely made by many experts that the cause of the plague is unknow , and the means oi' , its trunsmif-ioii not conclusively deter- ; mined. Physicians who have been fighting fight-ing it in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut, gave tho lutest scientific observations of these aspects. Uniform Inspection. . i Attention was centered chiefly on pre- j vent ion of spread of the epidemic; through interstate travel. "Uniformity j of regulations for travel on railroad ' trains, t-t earn ships and other carriers 1 was urged hy Secretary MeAdoo of the treasury department, id opening the con- j ferenee, anil while the opinion was ad- ! vaneod by several speakers that general gen-eral quarantine against passengers from the eastern infected areas was unnecessary, unneces-sary, the conference probably will recommend rec-ommend a system of uniform inspection, issuance of health certificates and cooperation co-operation between federal and state health and railroBd authorities toward safeguarding travel. Medical representatives represen-tatives of a dozen large trunk lines urged the conference to assist in securing secur-ing uniform traffic rules. A special committee to propose methods meth-ods for control of the epidemic, including includ-ing transportation regulations, was appointed ap-pointed to report tomorrow. Its members mem-bers arc Dr. John S. Pulton of Maryland, Mary-land, chairman; Dr. T. D. Tuttle of Washington state, Dr. E. W. Williams of Virginia, Dr. H. H. Bracken of Minnesota Min-nesota and Surgeon Charles E. Bauko, bend of tho public health service corps fighting the plague at New York. Committee on Statistics. Another committee, appointed to recommend rec-ommend u uniform method of collecting and transmitting statistics and information informa-tion regarding the disease s progress and control, is composed of Surgeon J. H. Lavinder of the public health service, serv-ice, chairman- D. W. C. Woodward of the Distriet or Columbia. Dr. C. St. Clair Drake of Illinois, Dr. A. G. Young of Maine and Surgeon J. W. Trask 6t the public health service. A national survey presented bv the state delegates showed 3 1,717 cases in thirty-eight states reporting, including cases since January 1. The state health officers reported that no states except those near New York had imposed embargoes em-bargoes on travelers from tho epidemic areas, and expressed belief that such drastic quarantine regulations aro unnecessary. un-necessary. Several delegates said fow cases in their states were traceable to the eastern epidemic, and others reported report-ed the plague more prevalent in rural than urban districts. Tho majority advanced ad-vanced the opinion that it was unnecessary unneces-sary to keep the schools closed in their states. Assistant Surgeon General W. C. Rucker, who, with Acting Surgeon Gen-oral Gen-oral A. II. Glennan, presided over the conference, gave out tonight tho following fol-lowing synopsis of tho views of the speakers: " It appears to he tho consensus of opinion that segregation of persons with the disease is desirable and that opening open-ing of schools is also advisable. Travel is dangerous when it permits movement move-ment of acute or chronic carriers of tho disease. Tho evidence is against insect transmission, and transmission by food is hypothetical. ' J Reporting on a scientific Btudv of symptoms and control of the epidemic in New York, conducted bv many state, city nnd federal scientists, Surgeon Sur-geon Wade Frost of the public health service said : "Frankly, we don't know how the disease is transmitted, nor its cause. Tho evidence strongly points to hit-1 (Continued on Page Two.) I PUS FOB WAR Ofi INFANTILE PARALYSIS (Continued from Page One.) mans as the carriers. Tho evidence is that it is purely a human disease, and if contagious a largo proportion of persons per-sons exposed are immune. It must he spread very largely from sources other than sick persons, mostly by adults. Against that is the known seasonal prevalence. Our theories do not exclude ex-clude transmission by insects. Transmission Trans-mission by the lower animals is hypothetical. hypo-thetical. Wo hardly suspect any but dogs and cats. Its rapid spread indicates indi-cates human carriers." Most Severe in Country. Despite the'Xew York epidemic, Surgeon Sur-geon Frost said, the most striking characteristic char-acteristic of the disease is that it is most severe in rural communities rather than in cities. Ho said 00 per cent of cases occurred among children under 10 years old, and that To to 00 per cent ot infections can be traced to previous cases of direct contact. There arc few infectious of persons exposed in their own families, he stated. Dr. (ieorge Draper of the New York health board 'said quarantine of paralyzed para-lyzed persons was not effective against transmission. Ho said milk possibly was a source oi infection, and that while at first negroes were believed immune, im-mune, cases lately had appeared among that race. The conference adopted a resolution thanking the New York authorities for their frank disclosures of conditions there as an assistance to other states in ; taking preventive measures. j |