The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene - Volume 3, Issue 6, November 1954

Die Biochemie der Viren (Organische Chemie in Einzeldarstellungen, Band 5). by Gerhard Schramm, Professor Dr. Phil. Max-Planck Institut für Virusforschung, Tubingen. 276 pp., 67 illustrations. Berlin, Göttingen, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. 1954. Price DM 36.—

Biochemical Determinants of Microbial Diseases, Harvard University Monographs in Medicine and Public Health, Number 13. by René J. Dubos, The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. 152 pp. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. 1954. Price $3.50.

Malnutrition in African Mothers, Infants and Young Children. Report of the 2nd Inter-African Conference on Nutrition held under the auspices of The Commission for Technical Co-operation in Africa South of the Sahara (C.C.T.A.). 398 pp., 56 illustrations. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1954. Price £1/5s.

Expert Committee on Venereal Infections and Treponematoses, Subcommittee on Serology and Laboratory Aspects, 3rd Report, WHO Technical Report Series #79.50 pp. Geneva: Palais des Nations, WHO, Distributed by Columbia University Press, International Documents Service, 2960 Broadway, New York 27, New York. 1954. Price 3/6, $0.50, Sw.fr. 2.

This remarkable book should prove indispensable to all investigators—and especially so to microbiologists—whose work involves animal experimentation. We do not know of a more comprehensive treatment of the subject in any language, yet it is presented very concisely, with constant attention to practical problems.

The first section describes the anatomy, physiological peculiarities, hematology and breeding conditions of various laboratory animals (guinea pig, rabbit, mouse, rat, hamster, ferret, spermophile, hen, pigeon, monkey, cat and dog). The second section contains 50 pages of valuable information on the housing and feeding of these animals, as well as on the types of cages and their cleaning and disinfection. The third section describes, in great detail but in a concise and very orderly way, the various bacterial, viral, protozoan and helminthic diseases naturally occurring in the guinea pig, rabbit, mouse, rat, ferret, hen and monkey. The consequences of avitaminosis, the tumors and the ectoparasites are also described.

This is one of a number of comparative surveys of health legislation in most of the countries of the world. Smallpox is a constant threat to countries in which it has virtually disappeared, from the endemic regions in Asia, Africa and America, and quarantine is small protection since introduction of the disease through mild cases or those in the incubation period becomes known only when it begins to spread. There are great divergences in the legislation of the fifty countries included in this survey. In 1949 the Pan-American Sanitary Bureau approved a proposal to carry out a program for the eradication of smallpox throughout the Americas. It will come as a surprise to many that the legislation of seven states of the U. S. A. prohibits compulsory vaccination. There is a useful appendix giving a synoptic table of legal requirements in fifty countries regarding vaccination and its technique, and a list of sources of information.

This report reviews advances in the field of rabies during the past three years. Of particular significance are the sections treating with antirabies hyper-immune serum, chick-embryo-adapted virus vaccine, and modifications in chick-embryo-adapted Flury strain rabies virus in high egg-passage. Hyperimmune serum and 14 subsequent daily doses of phenolized vaccine is recommended for treating persons with severe exposure. Studies upon which this recommendation is based are summarized. A useful table of indications for specific post-exposure treatment using serum is included. Field trials in Israel and Malaya demonstrating the effectiveness of chick-embryo vaccine in dogs are summarized. Chick-embryo vaccines are not yet recommended, however, for human treatment. Rabies control in animals including international transfer of animal, diagnosis, suggested research, potency testing of vaccines and hyperimmune serum, and epizootiology of wild-animal rabies including rabid insectivorous bats in the U. S. A. are other subjects covered.

This will be found a most useful report by all concerned in the control of this zoonosis which is of such importance in so many countries.

This WHO booklet describes the progress realized since World War II in combatting this group of infections. The effectiveness of penicillin and the organization of campaigns to reach those in need of treatment have had considerable impact on this health problem in areas where syphilis, yaws, and other endemic types of the infection are prevalent and where a “mass” approach has given hope of their eventual control. The book treats of the epidemiologic history of treponematoses, the control methods in use, and the integration of these measures with the general public health services. Besides maps, graphs and tables, the book contains a selective bibliography and will interest not only specialists but also the general public health worker and all concerned with tropical medicine and international health activities.

This exceedingly useful report should be in the hands of all who have to deal with malaria in the field or teach it in the schools. It sums up our knowledge and progress to date in the use of insecticides (especially the experience with interrupting application at a certain stage) and in chemotherapeutics of malaria, with the part that newly synthesized antimalarials might play in malaria control. There are valuable appendixes on measurement of longevity of mosquitos; technic for assessing susceptibility of anophelines to insecticides; criteria of malaria eradication; and the mode of action of antimalarial drugs, with a list of supporting documents.