THE SPECIFIC CURE OF YAWS WITH DIOXY-DIAM1DO- 

 ARSENOBENZOL. 1 



By Richard P. Strong. 

 (From the Biological Laboratory, Bureau of Science,- Manila, P. I.) 



In certain portions of the Philippine Islands yaws, or frambcesia, 2 is 

 a very common disease. In some of the smaller towns lying near Manila, 

 for example Paranaque, Las Pifias and Bacoor, it occurs much more 

 frequently in children than in adults, a considerable percentage of the 

 former being infected. In the course of a search of an hour or two 

 I was able to find in the neighborhood of a dozen or more cases of this 

 disease in each of these villages. 



The disease is not only highly disfiguring, but it is very contagious and 

 usually runs a chronic course, frequently preventing the patient from 

 working and sometimes eventually disabling him. The treatment hitherto 

 has been most unsatisfactory and usually must be very prolonged 

 before success is obtained. Wliile cures after long periods have frequently 

 resulted among the better classes affected, as a rule the disease is one 

 of very long duration and yields but slowly to medication. Some of the 

 cases reported in this paper demonstrate these points. Even the patients 

 who can be seen in the dispensary and hospital as a rule become dis- 

 couraged with the treatment long before a cure results, and usually 

 abandon it. The successful treatment of this disease in the cases among 

 the lower classes frequently encountered in the smaller towns hitherto 

 has been entirely impracticable, for the reason that it usually has been 

 impossible to persuade and also to cause individuals to take a prolonged 

 course of medication, which, to be successful ultimately, frequently 

 must be pursued for many months. 



Manson states that yaws runs a chronic course and lasts for weeks, months, 

 and years. The duration depends on the general health and idiosyncrasies of 

 the patient as well as on his hygienic conditions and the treatment employed. 



According to Daniels the usual duration of the disease is two or three years, 



1 Preliminary remarks on this subject were made before the Manila Medical 

 Society on September 5, 1910, where photographs and one of the cured patients 

 were presented. 



2 Commonly known among the natives as bubas." 



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