POLIO - DR. ROSENOW RESPONDS TO DETRACTORS  44R3


  In 1944 Dr. Rosenow specifically addressed the "apparent


inability" of some other investigators [including Sabin and Olitsky


1936 (see POLIO) to confirm his findings concerning the role of a


streptococcus in poliomyelitis, noting that tissue cultures


favorable for the cultivation of viruses "are not suitable for


primary isolations of the highly specific streptococcus ... from


material containing virus.  Dr. Rosenow notes and cites the


corroborating results of those who did use his methods


consistently, and asserted "The discrepencies and the claimed


inability of some [including Olitsky etal., JAMA 1929, 92, 1725]


tro isolate or demonstrate the streptococcus and to obtain evidence


of its specificity in accord with my results may truly be said to


be due to differences in concept leading to inadequate attempts, to


differences in methods, to dearth of experiment or to


misinterpretation of results.


  "By the use of autoclaved dextrose-brain broth and soft dextrose-


brain agar in tall tubes [as per Arch Path.. 1938, 26, 70] this


same type of streptococcus has since [initial 1916 studies] been


isolated consistently from the very tissues, fluids or other


material in which virus has been demonstrated most often, such as


nasopharynx, tonsils, stool, cerebrospinal fluid, brain and spinal


cord.  This has been done in altogether 37 widely separated rural


or urban epidemics and 7 institutional outbreaks of poliomyelitis,


and from cerebrospinal fluid or brain and spinal cord of more than


400 monkeys that had succumbed to poliomyelitis following


inoculation of many different strains of virus. ...


  "The streptococcus, while of low general virulence, was found to



have specific affinity for the anterior horns of the spinal cord on


appropriate inoculation, producing as the outstanding manifestation


flaccid paralysis in guinea pigs, rabbits and monkeys - a property


that is lost promptly on aerobic cultivation, and which was not


found of similar streptococci isolated in studies of other


diseases.


  "Relation of the streptococcus and virus was further indicated


during experiments in which viability ofstreptococcus and virus ran


closely parallel for as long as 5 years in glycerolated brain and


cord tissue of persons and monkeys that had succumbed to


poliomyelitis."


  Dr. Rosenow summarized results of treatment by him, co-workers


and other physicians, with "poliomyelitis antistreptococcic serum",


whereby there were 9.5% deaths out of 2664 total treated; versus


21.3% deaths in 2737 controls, patients not treated with serum


during the same epidemics.  In followup on 2256 of the surviving


patients, 10.4% of 1716 treated patients suffered severe residual


paralysis; versus 33% of controls.


  "The results of these studies, summarised all too briefly here,


indicate that the inciting agent of poliomyelitis represents


interrelated phases of the streptococcus and what is now considered


virus, that the streptococcus plays the primary role in the


causation of the disease, occurrence of epidemics and immunity, and


that the virus is the small, filtrable, highly invasive, relatively


non-antigenic phase of the streptococcus."  [44R3: The Lancet


Poliomyelitis, Studies on the inciting agent ...]


  This belief that the filtrable phase of the organism was


"relatively non-antigenic" is of course brought sharply into


question by the apparent use of such phase in the production of


prophylactic vaccines by Salk and Sabin a decade later.  (see 


 for further


discussions).