Show 1 Daily Health Service Rats Related to Spread of oj Typhus Fever By DR MORRIS FISHBEIN Editor Journal of the he American Amerlean Medical l Association and of the Health health- Magazine The he condition called colled typhus fever lever was formerly considered to be a n. disease dis e ease Se largely associated with the tropics war conditions and prison life Investigations made by Howard Taylor Rickets supplemented largely large large- ly Ir by those of ot other Americans re revealed revealed re- re the fact that typhus fever Is transmitted by the body louse which explained to a considerable extent Its special character Recent Investigations made by Texas Texa physicians indicate that this condition may be transmitted not only by the body louse but also by the rat flea In 1930 two Texas physicians trapped a a number of wild rats In Inand Inand inand and around feed stores In a small smalltown smalltown town in Texas in which a number ot of cases of typhus have occurred in recent years cars A number of the fleas were secured from these rats and In the laboratories of the Bailey Balley university college of oC medicine Some of oC the fleas were ground up Into a a solution and Injected Into guinea pigs which promptly developed developed developed devel devel- symptoms It was found that the virus from the rat flea could be transmitted to animals Immunity tests tests' between the strain of the virus obtained from the rat fleas and a a. astrain astrain strain obtained from a proved case of typhus fever indicated definitely the relationship between thIS the rat flea virus virus' and the typhus fever virus The rat has already been convicted convict convict- ed of oC being a vector and carrier 01 of plague There seems to be no doubt that the rat may also be associated with the spread of oC other diseases Rats and mice breed rapidly Permitted Permitted Per Per- to breed without control they soon ov overrun premises and would quite certainly overrun the world They should be stamped out because their field of ot usefulness has not yet been demo demonstrated and to civilized mAn men they arc arca a a. menace 0 |