OCR Text |
Show THOUSAND RABIES CASES IN UTAH, ESTIMATE OF EXPERT With 1 50 Identified by Scientific Laboratory Methods in Ten Months, Officials Agree on Startling Statement. DUIUNH tho past week twelve cases of rabies, or hydrophobia, have In,' en posit i vely determined by diagnosis in tho Utah state public pub-lic health laboratory at the University of Utah by Professor L. L. Dailies, stale, bacteriologist. The animals examined ex-amined were mainly coyotes and dogs, but one calf from (Washington county avo, with the rest, undoubted evidence of having been infected. Members of the United Wtates biological survey, who are actively engaged in the destruction destruc-tion of predatory animals in the state, give as their opinion that for every case sent to the state laboratory for diagnosis there are at least ten other animals that die of the disease. Tho first case diagnosed in the state was that of a rabid coyote killed at La May, Box Khlcr county, March 25, HUB. Since that time, besides a large number of animals not showing signs of tho disease, nearly 150 positive cases have been examined in the laboratory, says Professor Dailies. According to biological survey workers, this indicates t hat there have been more than one thousand cases of the disease in the state within the past ten months. Many Counties Invaded. Tho cases receiving laboratory diagnosis diag-nosis came from tho following counties: Box Elder, Cache, Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, Tooele, Utah, Juab, Beaver, Piute, Millard, Iron and Washington. The epidemic is spreading eastward from the Utah-Nevaua line and is appearing ap-pearing in all of tho counties in its path. It is said to be probable that other counties have already been reached by this time'. Notwithstanding these facts there is a tendency among maoy, even in infested in-fested districts, to discredit the statements state-ments of those in close touch with the situation, according to the state health officials. Laboratory Tests Certain. In the laboratory just as certain and definite evidence can be hod as in the field. As a matter of fact, more conclusive con-clusive evidence is available, for besides be-sides the microscopic proof recourse is often had to actual animal inoculation inocula-tion to demonstrate cases that might be clinically and even microscopically obscure. ob-scure. Of all the microscopic examinations used in a public health laboratory, or in any other laboratory, the rabies examination ex-amination is one of the most definite. A laboratory worker trained in searching search-ing for evidence of rabies could hardly be mistaken on a single positive test. When he reports loO positive results within ten mouths ' time, especially when some of these have been confirmed con-firmed by animal inoculation, there is no question as to the accuracy. Scientists Agreed. Vt: Sawyer of tho University of California, Cali-fornia, Dr. Ma civ of tiie University of Nevada Ne-vada and Dr. I-aubaugh of Idaho, each a director of the state laboratory in his stale, and numerous government experts agree fully with the Utah official reports. The epidemic in Utah is but an extension exten-sion of an epidemic that has been present in these states for three to five years. Rabies has been known for over twen-tv twen-tv centuries and has been present in the ; eastern part of the United States for ! over I'OO years. So far as is know n, the extreme 'west 6m states have not been invaded until recently. The disease found its way into California Cali-fornia from Mexico in the latter part of Rill, passed up the coast through California Cali-fornia into Oregon, from there into Nevada, Ne-vada, from which, state it found its way into Idaho and early last year into Utah. It is more commonly called hydrophobia or "mad dog." It is by no means, bow-ever, bow-ever, confined to dogs; in fact, all mammals mam-mals seem to he susceptible to it. Many Animals. Positive diagnoses have been made in I he Utah state laboratory on the following follow-ing animals: Dopey, coyotes, eats, wildcats, wild-cats, lynx, deer, cows, horses, hogs, sheep and. for experimental purposes, guinea pigs and rabbits. Other animals, such as skunks and wolves, and r'owls. such a chickens, geese, etc.. are known to have been infected, and man, also, is subject to infection. Tho disease is undoubtedly a germ dis- ease and therefore infectious. It is sprea-1 mainly be an infected animal biting a healthy one, the serin beintr present in the saliva, of the animal having the disease. dis-ease. A few cases ha ve been reported i n which the grni has entered cuts in the .skin of persons handling infected animals, as in the laboratory. Tiie germ apparently appar-ently travels from the place of entrance into the body, up the nerve trunks to the brain and attacks and enters large nerve cells in the brain. What Microscope Shows. The microscopic examination consists in demonstrating the presence of the "Negri" "Ne-gri" bodies, thought to bo the germs of the disease, fn these large brain cells, and Is carried out as follows: The brains of the animal to be examined ex-amined are removed from the skull and parts of the brain, in which large gray cells are abundant and in which the germs tend to become localized, are obtained. ob-tained. These parts are the hippocampus, the cortex of the cerebellum and certain areas of the cortex of the cerebrum. Method in Detail. Pmall bits of tissue from these parts are smeared thinly on microscopic glass slides, placed in met hylic alcohol to kill the germs and fix them to the slide, and then the smears are stained by covering with a stain prepared by mixing definite parts of a saturated alchoholic solution of fuch-sln fuch-sln and an alkaline methylene-blue In distilled water. With this stain the large brain cells become be-come light blue while tiie "negrl" bodies are stained a deep red and are within the brain cells. The "negri" bodies are usually comparatively com-paratively large and, with a good microscope, micro-scope, can be very easily demonstrated. All Doubt Removed. The specific association of these bodies with the disease Is now beyond doubt. In the laboratory of the New York City department de-partment of health, during the past ten years, over 4500 such examinations have been made, both for diagnosis and for experimental ex-perimental purposes, and in no case have they been unable to produce the disease in experimental animals with material used from brains in which these "negri" bodies have been found. If it is considered necessary to Inoculate Inocu-late experimental animals, a small amount of the brain substance is ground up in a salt solution and injected either under the skin or into tiie brain of the animal. A guinea pig so treated will show symptoms of the disease, if the case Is positive, in about ten days, and will die in three or four more. The "negrl" bodies can be demonstrated dem-onstrated in the guinea pig's brain and can be used to infect other animals. The Incubation Period. The time from infection to the beginning begin-ning of symptoms is called the "incubation "incuba-tion period." In man the incubation period varies usually from about forty to sixty days. Isolated cases have been reported re-ported in which this period was prolonged for several months, and it has been as short as three weeks. Fortunately means has been found in the Pasteur treatment of securing immunity immu-nity before the incubation period is completed, com-pleted, if the treatment is begun early enough after the Infection. The Utah state board of health gives this treatment free. and. although it in itself is extremely unpleasant, to say the least, it is t lie only definite means to secure protection after having been nifected. This treatment 'has reduced the mortality mor-tality among those bitten by rabid animals ani-mals from 16 per cent to one-half of 1 per cent. After the symptoms appear the mortality is practically 100 per cent. Symptoms of Disease. The disease, as it occurs In animals and in man. is described briefly by a leading authority, as follows: In dogs and guinea pigs (also coyotes, coy-otes, wolves and cats) inoculation usually results first in a stage of increased in-creased excitability, restlessness and sometimes vieiousness. This is followed fol-lowed by depression, torpor, loss of appetite. Inability to swallow, and finally paralysis. In rabbits and other animals of similar species the disease usually takes the . form of what is known as "dumb rabies," the animals gradually growing more somnolent and weak, with tremors and gradual paralysis beginning in the hind legs. In man the disease begins usually with headaches and nervous depression. depres-sion. This is followed by difficulty in swallowing and spasms of the respiratory muscles. These symptoms symp-toms occur intermittently, the free intervals being marked by attacks of terror and nervous depression. Occasionally Occa-sionally there are maniacal attacks, in which the patient raves and completely com-pletely loses self-control. Finally paralysis sets in, ending eventually in death. |