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Not accepting, and at the same time not rejecting the theory that pellagra is caused by the eating of reducts of diseased corn. Dr. C. H. vender, surgeon in charge of the Marine Hospital, sent to Savannah by the government for the purpose of establishing a laboratory for the investigation of this dread disease, expects to have the laboratory in a short time, and has already begun his work, with patients who are un der treatment at the hospital, says the Savannah News. In the meanwhile an assistant of Dr. Lavender is making field inves tigations over the south, and report ing to the Savannah headquarters. As soon as the laboratory is in full working order the government will accept a limited number of patients for treatment at the hospital. In stating his now acceptance of the corn theory of pellagra, Dr. Lav ender differs with Dr. Roy Harris, secretary of the state board of health, who is advising the passage ‘of a state law prohibiting the impor tation of western corn into Georgia. ‘Dr. Harris says there are in the neighborhood of 50,000 cases of pel lagra in the south. In stating his position on the corn theory, Dr. Lavender says he does not think it right to thro over board the results of a hundred years of investigation and experi ence which has caused the corn the ory to be generally accepted, yet he is unwilling to accept it until it can be more scientifically shown to be correct. Dr. Lavender is also not prepared to accept the other theories which have been advanced as to the cause of pellagra, prominent among which is that of Dr. Sambon, the great English doctor, who advanced the theory that pellagra is caused by the bite of an insect, probably the Simulium or Buffalo tnat Dr. Sambon evolved this theory and was sent to Italy to work it out. He spent considerable time in his investigation and then gave the world his theory in an elaborate treatise. Dr. Lavender, who had been sent by the United States gov ernment to Italy to investigate pel lagra, was there at the same time as Dr. Sambon, and had the pleas ure of working with him for a time. Dr. Lavender is, however, not pre pared to accept the Simulium the ory, for the same reason as he does not accept the coin theory, that it has not been scientifically demon strated to be correct. Dr. Lavender has been working in pellagra investigations for several years, and has visited every section of the United States east of the Mis sissippi river, where the disease is to be found. His opinion is that South Carolina, Georgia and Missis sippi are the states most affected by the disease, with South Carolina rely having the greatest num b of cases. He says it is unfortunate that the ublic is generally imbued with the Tea that pellagra is always fatal. The type of the disease is more fa tal in the United States than Italy, he says, and the mortality runs all the way from 25 to 80 per cent, but care and treatment, as in other dis eases, decrease the danger from the disease and more people get well of it than die, is his comparative en couraging comment on this phase of the disease which is now holding the attention of many through its increasing prevalence. Dr. Lavender quite agrees with the general idea that the disease is not infectious or contagious, and that the discovery of its origin will show it to be caused by some such agencies as have been claimed in theories already announced. He be lieves that the great amount of work being done in investigating the disease will sooner or later lead to the discovery of its origin. Pellegra, Dr. Lavender says, has been known since 1735, and is known to have been in this country for 150 years. Four or five years ago it became very pronounced in this section of the south and has since grown considerably. It differs considerably in this country from Italy. There it is rarely if ever seen in the cities, while in the United States this is not true. It is almost entirely a disease among the poorest classes in Italy, while the same does not prevail in the United States, Dr. Lavender says—Exchange
Newspaper Details
Carrollton Carroll Free Press
Carrollton, Georgia, US
Thu, Aug 31, 1911
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Boel B.
SE 16 May 2026
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