The Chemical Prophylaxis for Poliomyelitis

The recent discovery that certain chemicals applied to the olfactory area of the nose in monkeys gives a temporary immunity against subsequent instillations of an active poliomyelitis virus is the first definite evidence that this disease can be prevented and offers the hope that similar prophylactic treatment in children will likewise protect them. In 1935 Armstrong and Harrison1of the United States Public Health Service reported that monkeys could be protected against intranasal inoculations of poliomyelitis virus by previous douching of the nose with solutions of alum, trinitrophenol (picric acid) or a combination of the two. A rather extensive field application of this type of prevention2was made in the summer of 1936, but the nasal spray applications were generally carried out in such a manner as to indicate, in the light of later work, that the majority of the children received no protection. In 1936 Schultz and