Influenzal meningitis (not related to influenza or epidemic meningitis) used to kill 92% to 100% of all cases. But Manhattan's Dr. Hattie Elizabeth Alexander loses only 25% of her patients. Dr. Alexander's lifesaving treatment consists of a special serum and sulfadiazine. Said she last week: "If treatment were always prompt, mortality could be brought near the zero mark."
Dr. Alexander developed her serum in 1938. It is made by injecting rabbits with Hemophilus Infiuenzae (bacteria responsible for the disease), then making an extract of the rabbit's blood.
In a typical case (a child under two), Dr. Alexander estimates the severity of the infection...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
