December 12. mi si 



NATURE 



287 



l.uion by chemical messengers between organs in 

 plants as thai found by Prof. Starling and the 

 present writer in the case of the bancreattt se"cre- 

 tion in animals seems to be made out.' 



W. M. Bayi ISS. 



I III- PJRJSI /■. \ VIQN OF VENERE \L 

 DISE ISES. 



Till Exei utive ( ommittee of the National 

 Coum Combating Venereal Diseases, 



of which Lord Sydenham is president, has pul 

 forth a numbei ol proposals for meeting the 

 danger of a large increase of venereal diseases 

 among the civil population when the troops are 

 demobilised. The Times ol November 25, in 

 commenting upon the recommendations, states 

 thai there will be about 300,000 infected men on 

 demobilisation. These will be distributed to ever) 

 pari of the British Empire, carrying with them 

 1 in germs of infection. Rural districts in Greal 

 Britain and in the Colonics which have hitherto 



been free or Comparatively free from these diseases 



will consequently suffer seriously. 



There are thirteen proposals of the Executive 

 Committee for preventive and curative treatment, 

 but here it is intended to deal with the third 

 recommendation only, namely, "Some means 

 should be devised whereby medical practitioners 

 are encouraged to diagnose venereal disease in 

 patients, and also to give early preventive treat- 

 The only meaning which can be attached 



to this solitary proposal for prophylactic treatment 



is that the patient, having exposed himself to 

 infection, should (if and when the opportunity 

 apply to a doctor encouraged to diagnose 

 il disease, who would tell him what course 

 in pursue to eradicate the disease, or possibly 

 what he might have done to avert infection in the 

 past, or how to avoid it in the future. 



il science has shown that the two venereal 

 5, syphilis and gonorrhoea, are due to 

 specific living germs, which when once the) are 

 implanted in the tissues of the body are extremely 

 difficult to eradicate. It is too late in a number 

 ol cases to avoid serious consequences if the 

 patient has to wail for a diagnosis even by an 

 experienced practitioner, although modern im- 

 proved methods ol curative treatment can do 

 much. If science be consulted rather than senti- 

 ment, the curliest treatment would be advocated, 

 such as the use of germicidal disinfectants in 

 portable form as soon after exposure as possible 

 to kill the organisms before they can enter the 

 tissues of the body. This prophylactic treatment 

 was lirst shown to be effective b) experiments on 

 animals, and such a method of prevention applied 

 to human beings, first publicly advocated in a letter 



to the Times b) Sir Bryan Donkin, is supported 

 b) a great number of medical authorities. It has 

 long been adopted by the Navy, and has recently 

 been introdui ed by the Army. 



In Public Health, the official organ of the 

 Society of Medical Officers of Health (No. 12, 



• rh« Chemical Regulation of the Secretory Proceu," Proc. Roy. Soc, 



"■ , p. 310. (1004) 



vol. \xxi., September, IQ/18), there are some in- 

 teresting and important articles proving the value 

 of earliest treatment in the prevention of venereal 

 disease. Space is too limited to give full details, 

 but the following results speak for themselves : 

 i .'apt. Walker, of the Canadian Medical FO < , 

 at a c6nference in Paris, stated that before £fee 

 Introduction ol earliest disinfectant treatment the 

 incidence of venereal diseases amongst the 5000 

 nth. 1 is and nun on leave in Paris during August 

 and September, 11)17, was 20 per cent. From 

 November, 1917, to the end of March, igis, after 

 the introduction of immediate disinfection, only 

 j per cent, of infections occurred. Capt. Walker, 

 from his experience. Strongly urged (1) pro- 

 phylaxis for men, (2) prophylaxis for women, 

 (3) a separation of the moral from the medical 

 side of the question. 



Likewise the experience of Col. Elgood at Port 

 Said, and of the Australian and New Zealand 

 forces, shows that this earliest disinfection is the 

 most efficient, though not absolutely efficient, 

 method of preventive treatment, because neither 

 drunkenness nor indifference and carelessness on 

 the part of the individual can be controlled. The 

 arguments against the application of this earliest 

 treatment to the civil population are twofold : 

 (1) The injury to the individual and collective 

 moral sense; (2) the impossibility of inducing the 

 local authorities to advocate its practical applica- 

 tion. As to these points, we may remark :- J - 



( 1 ) It is doubtful whether the fear of contracting 

 venereal disease quenches the fire of sexual 

 passion of youth or makes the viciously inclined 

 virtuous. Again, there is the sentiment that such 

 measures advocated by public authorities would 

 be an incentive to vice, but against this must be 

 placed the misery and suffering to countless inno- 

 cent women and children which would arise if an 

 efficacious mode of prevention is rejected upon 

 moral grounds. 



(2) During recent times necessity, and alarm 

 for the future of the race, have swept away many 

 prejudices, and, therefore, it is not surprising to 

 find that the Warrington Town Council by a 

 resolution has advocated the adoption of this 

 earliest treatment, and copies of the same were 

 forwarded to the President of the Local Govern- 

 ment Board and the councils of the county 

 boroughs of England and Wales. Well may the 

 official journal of medical officers of health, com- 

 menting upon this resolution, assert that as a prac- 

 tical preventive measure this is undoubtedly the 

 most important step that has been taken up to the 

 present. 



WORK AT THE NATIONAL PHYSICAL 

 LABORATORY. 



SINCE the opening of the National Physical 

 Laboratory in 1902 remarkable growth has 

 taken place not only in its material resources of 

 buildings and equipment, but also in the number of 

 the staff employed. The Annual Report 1 recently 



I The N.itional Physical Laboratory. Report for the Year 1917-18. 

 I H.M. Stationery Office, 1918.) Price 2J. M. net. 



NO. 2563, VOL. I02] 



