43 (i 12) Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine. 



in the blood of the cause of measles, inoculations of human beings 

 would seem to be necessary ; because, so far as we now know, this 

 disease is probably not communicable to animals. Griinbaum's 

 experiments with measles in the chimpanzee appear to have given 

 negative results. 



Critical review of the literature shows that almost without ex- 

 ception the recorded experiments in the inoculation of measles, for 

 which positive results have been claimed, are without real signifi- 

 cance. The claims that the experiments of Home, of Wachsel, 

 of Speranza, of Katona, of McGirr, of Bufalini gave definitely posi- 

 tive results do not stand close scrutiny in the light of the evidence 

 at hand : In many instances the rubeolous nature of the sickness, 

 sometimes very mild, following the inoculation and regarded by 

 the experimenters as measles, is not at all securely established, 

 and in practically all cases the possibility of natural infection was 

 not excluded. These experiments, practically all of which were 

 undertaken with the idea of producing a modified form of the 

 disease, consequently permit no conclusion as to the infectiousness 

 of the blood or other substances in measles. If we accept Mayr's 

 results as they are given by him it may be concluded that in 

 measles, nasal mucus and cutaneous scrapings (containing blood, 

 epithelial debris, and tissue juices) may contain the cause of measles 

 at or near the height of the eruption. 



In the following experiments the author tried to determine 

 whether or not in measles at the height of the attack the blood 

 contains the cause of the disease. In these experiments special 

 care was taken to exclude natural infection. 



i. The blood injected was taken from a boy of 9, who, in the 

 later stages of desquamation after an uncomplicated attack of 

 scarlet fever, developed a rather mild but typical attack of measles. 

 The first symptoms of measles appeared after he had been free 

 from fever for about two weeks. There was headache, coryza, 

 cough, running of the eyes, and mild febrile symptoms. Three 

 days later a papular eruption was noted, and on the fourth day a 

 typical rubeolous rash was present that soon began to fade, and 

 was followed by branny desquamation. 



On the fourth day 4 c.c. of blood were withdrawn from a vein 

 at the right elbow after carefully scrubbing the skin with soap and 



