Harold J. Magnuson

Anticipating safety and health needs.

In the area of technological change, the event of greatest moment, perhaps, has been the onset of the electronic and nuclear energy age. New possibilities have opened up for the entire electromaguetic spectrum, ranging from the infrared waves to cosmic rays. We shall see an increasing use of manmade radiation not only as a source of power but also as a tool in the study of industrial processes and methods and in the control of product quality. Many predict that the peaceful use of nuclear energy will be a major influence in our civilization by 1980. As one illustration, the microwave region has opened up broad new areas of research in many fields, with potential application to industry. Microwaves already are finding increased use in spectroscopy, radio astronomy, particle accelerators, radar, communications, and food sterilization. But, a,s is true of many other rapid developments, knowledge of the health effects of microwaves has not kept pace with their use. Another technological development which has aroused considerable interest is automation. By no means new, automation has appeared in various guises, such as in automatic poison gas alarms and driverless lift trucks. Automation makes possible new products, processes, and production volumes, leading ultimately, as some expect, to larger work forces. Various. industries, such as those engaged in the production of new synthetic fibers, antibiotics, and nuclear energy, critically depend on automatic controls for volume production and worker safety. That automation will find its way into more uses is indisputable. Only its degree of advance is uncertain because of the excessive cost of complete automation. Because of its growing influence, automation deserves serious scrutiny from the standpoint of worker health. One of the most immediate problems coming to, our attention is, in some instances, that of greater exposure to noise, resulting from the greater use of electrical motors and equipment in the factory. More nervous strain may also be expected from the character of automatic operations. The effect of errors is more serious, the responsibility of the maintenance worker is higher, and machines are more complex. Eye attention is also intensified by theconcentration and close work and the focus on control dials, lights, and panels. As the need lessens for physical effort by workers tending automatic machines, a growth of the hea.lth problems associated with the sedentary worker may be expected. We may also expect psychological hazards to the worker from isolation, boredom, and even from increased leisure. A third f actor of health import on the technological scene is the fast-rising number of new chemicals. Figures reflecting the growth of the chemica.l industry stagger the imagination. Consider, for example, that there are 500,000 distinct chemical compounds in use in industrial Dr. Magnuson serves as chief of the Occupational Health Branch of the Public Health Service. The paper was read at the 1959 convention of the International Association of Governmental Labor Officials, which was held in Kennebunkport, Maine, September 9-12, 1959.

THE USE OF ANTIBIOTICS IN SPIROCHAETOSIS—LABORATORY AND GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

The author finds himself confronted with a rather d8cul t problem in considering the spirochetal infections as a group. While close relationships exist among the several Treponemata, the Borrelia and Leptospira join their company only as a consequence of our morphologically oriented schemes of nomenclature. Although such classification may be incongruous in a metabolic, immunologic, or therapeutic sense, it has the authority of convention, and may be useful in directing our attention, not only to the superficial similarities, but also to the profound differences in these infections. The success of the antibiotics in the treatment of the treponemal infections has exceeded, perhaps, the most optimistic hopes of less than ten years ago. On the other hand, the more recent reports on the use of antibiotics in the treatment of human leptospirosis would suggest that our present therapeutic agents leave much to be desired. Within this group of infections, therefore, we have illustrated some of the evolutionary phases through which antibiotic therapies must go and, against this framework, we may survey the role of the laboratory. As Pratt and Dufrenoy’ have ably stated, “At first, the majority of papers in this field (antibiotics) dealt principally with problems of production, purification, chemical structure and identification, assaying, control, and description of new antibiotics. Gradually, as larger amounts of pure antibiotics have become available, there has been a swing toward practical problems of critical clinical evaluation (and related subjects) and for a fundamental study of the mechanisms of action of antibiotics on micro-organisms, More recently still, consideration has been given to the impact that antibiotics are having on our civilization. ”

Spirocheticidal activity of plasma and serum fractions.

Summary There is no appreciable difference between the spirocheticidal activity of the serum and the plasma from patients with early syphilis. Serums and plasmas were fractionated into eight precipitates by the application of Cohns Method 10. In the majority of the experiments, more than 50% of the spirocheticidal substances were present in fraction III-1,2 associated with high molecular weight isoagglutinins and small amount of prothrombin protein (and fibrinogen when plasma was employed) and fraction I -f- III-3 associated with the high molecular weight antihemophilic globulin and cold insoluble globulin and a small amount of plasminogen. We wish to thank Miss P. L. Sapp, Miss V. L. McMahan and Mr. D. Shanor for their skillful technical assistance.