Abstract
Poliomyelitis (infantile paralysis) in human beings is ordinarily regarded as an infectious disease caused by a virus. While it is true that a virus has been isolated and can be transmitted to monkeys, there are many features in the incidence of the disease which are difficult to reconcile with the virus hypothesis. The epidemiological features of the disease strongly suggest that food is concerned in its spread, but repeated attempts to demonstrate an infective agent in the food have failed. The occurrence of local outbreaks under certain seasonal and climatic conditions and the apparent absence of direct case-to-case transmission are suggestive of some form of food poisoning. R. R. Scobey (Archiv. Pediatrics, New York, 63, 322; 1946) puts forward the theory that the disease is primarily due to hydrocyanic acid poisoning; either the hydrocyanic acid directly poisons the nerve cells, or else it makes them susceptible to a virus which is normally about the body. Hydrocyanic acid, in the free state or in the form of mustard oil or cyanophore glucosides, is now known to be present in many of the vegetables and fruits which are ordinarily consumed during the time of year when poliomyelitis is prevalent. The plants concerned belong to the Cruciferæ (mustard, horseradish, cauliflower, cabbage) and Rosaceæ (most of the ordinary stone-fruits and berries). The symptoms and pathological changes which occur in experimental hydrocyanic acid poisoning in animals and in many of the recorded cases of poisoning in man bear a striking resemblance to those of poliomyelitis. The hydrocyanic acid content of plants shows a marked seasonal variation. The geographical distribution, seasonal incidence and climatic conditions observed during epidemics of poliomyelitis can be correlated with a high hydrocyanic acid content of the local flora and with the feeding habits of the community. Scobey brings together much circumstantial evidence in support of his theory, which will deserve serious attention, for this is a disastrous disease for which no rational therapy is at present available.
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Hydrocyanic Acid and Poliomyelitis. Nature 160, 359 (1947). https://doi.org/10.1038/160359a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/160359a0