HILARY KOPROWSKI 
population highly susceptible to infections. Since people will 
continue to live longer and, thanks to new and better drugs, 
those who suffer from chronic disease will suffer longer, an 
increase in the spread of infections is to be expected in the future. 
A more frequent manipulation of the human body, in the 
guise of healing, has already contributed to an increase in the 
rate of infections. I refer here particularly to surgical procedures 
which, when performed carelessly, have contributed to the 
increase of staphylococcal infection in hospitals. The intro- 
duction of technical improvements will lead to more frequent 
use of surgical procedures in general, as well as their prolonga- 
tion from the present average length of one to two hours to as 
long as nine to twelve hours, thus also prolonging the period of 
exposure of the patient to infection. However, the greatest 
danger of upsetting the equilibrium between man and his 
bacteria lies in anti-bacterial drug therapy, either inadequate 
or based on unsound principles, and in attempts to eradicate 
infections. 
ERADICATION OF A DISEASE—A FALLACY? 
‘ 
*...non sarebbe 
qualche nuova conquesta? 
Io lo devo saper, per porla in lista.’’ 
per, per p 
DA PONTE (Mozart: Don Giovannt) 
In an editorial in the September, 1962 issue of the American 
Review of Respiratory Diseases, William Stead wrote the following 
about the future progress of eradication of tuberculosis: 
“Control of a communicable disease is usually construed to mean 
a reduction of incidence to a level acceptable to public health 
authorities. Eradication, on the other hand, entails the complete 
elimination of the etiologic agent from its susceptible host. The 
one is a relative reduction and the other an absolute elimination. 
Eradication requires a far greater understanding of several aspects 
of the disease than is presently possessed. Herein lies a great 
challenge for the future. It will have to be met by careful research 
into questions which heretofore have been viewed as “‘academic”’ 
or even esoteric by most people. Eradication will require a much 
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