POLIOMYELITIS: A POSSIBLE RELATIONSHIP OF WEATHER TO THE GASTROINTESTINAL ROUTE OF INFECTION

Journal/Book: Reprinted from AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH Vol. 51 No. 8 August 1961. 1961;

Abstract: This paper presents an hypothesis to explain the seasonal prevalence of poliomyelitis in man and possibly o f other virus infections transmitted in a similar manner. Dr. Armstrong formerly medical director (now retired) was associated with the U. S. Department of Health Education and Welfare Public Health Service Laboratory of Infectious Diseases National Institute of Health Bethesda Md. Summary Mucin when mixed with certain bacteria and injected into an animal has long been known to enhance their pathogenicity.1 The same properties of mucin affect certain viruses as well as bacteria but instead of enhancing they tend to inhibit the pathogenicity of such viruses. This reversal of the effect of mucin with viruses as compared with bacteria is probably related to the fact that viruses are unable to multiply until they can reach and invade susceptible cells while bacteria find in mucin itself a suitable menstruum in which to flourish. Based largely upon this protective action of mucin in certain virus diseases first recognized in 1950 3 and upon the seasonal variation an its production an hypothesis is presented purporting to explain the seasonal prevalence of poliomyelitis in man and possibly certain other similarly transmitted virus infections. The hypothesis is capable of explaining: 1. The seasonal variation of poliomyelitis incidence irrespective of whether infection occurs via the upper respiratory tract the throat or the gastrointestinal route. 2. The minor variations in incidence commonly observed in poliomyelitis outbreaks of limited geographical extent. 3. Why poliomyelitis tends to appear later and to disappear earlier in temperate zones as one goes either north or south from the equator and the hypothesis is elastic enough to make occasional cold weather outbreaks understandable. ___MH

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