jour.  Pharm. )   Keeping  Qualities  of  Vaccine  Virus.  143 
February,  1921.  > 
ABSTRACTED  AND  REPRINTED 
ARTICLES 
NOTE  ON  THE  KEEPING  QUALITIES  OF  DRIED  AND 
PULVERIZED  VACCINE  VIRUS.* 
By  Dr.  O.  Schorl. 
At  the  request  of  the  Philippine  Health  Service,  some  experi- 
ments were  made  at  the  Bureau  of  Science  in  order  to  ascertain 
the  method  of  preparation,  and  the  means  of  preservation,  of  dried 
vaccine  virus  for  practical  purposes.  The  proper  distribution  of 
active  virus  to  remote  places  has  always  been  a  problem  in  the 
Philippines,  on  account  of  geographical  conditions,  particularly 
in  case  of  emergency — that  is,  when  smallpox  breaks  out  in  a  far- 
away place — because  it  takes  a  long  time  for  the  vaccine  virus  to 
reach  its  destination.  Furthermore,  we  must  take  into  consideration 
that  there  are  localities  in  which  there  is  no  way  of  keeping  the 
glycerinized  vaccine  virus  at  low  temperature  during  shipment  from 
the  nearest  port  to  these  remote  places. 
It  seems,  therefore,  that  it  is  of  great  importance  to  the  sani- 
tary authorities  of  this  country  to  try  to  distribute  vaccine  virus 
in  such  form  that  it  can  be  kept  even  under  unfavorable  condi- 
tions; in  othei  words,  in  a  form  in  which  even  if  direct  light, 
and  sun  heat  or  artificial  heat  are  excluded,  the  vaccine  can  still 
be  kept  for  a  reasonable  length  of  time.  Were  this  possible, 
vaccinations  could  be  performed  in  the  interior  of  islands  where 
communication  and  ice  plants  are  nonexistent.  It  would  also 
benefit  parts  of  the  Islands  which  have  both  communication  and 
ice,  in  as  much  as  the  health  officer  located  in  such  places  could 
keep  on  hand  a  certain  amount  of  vaccine  all  the  time,  and  if 
smallpox  should  break  out  in  his  district  vaccinations  could  be 
commenced  within  three  hours  after  receiving  the  report  of  the 
first  case  of  the  disease  in  the  district.  There  are  no  doubt  places 
connected  with  Manila,  but  where  connection  is  such  that,  even 
if  the  health  officer  cable  immediately  for  vaccine  virus,  several 
^Reprinted  from  the  Philippine  Journal  of  Science,  July.  1020. 
