Medicine: Influenza Through the Nose

A couple of Russians named Smorodintsev and Nachaev recently figured out a way of preventing and treating influenza. Since influenza is contracted by breathing infective material, they reasoned, why not inhale serum from the blood of horses which have been immunized? In an article soon to appear in the American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Commander Albert P. Krueger of the University of California says that the Russians are right.

In his Naval Unit’s experiments, mice inhaled a fine spray of specially treated horse serum and then received large doses of mouse-influenza organisms in their noses. The mice proved immune to influenza and stayed that way about six days. The doctors think that the Russian method is successful because it puts influenza antibodies (blood elements which fight the disease) where they are needed.

As present anti-influenza vaccines are not much good, the doctors want to try nasal immunization and treatment on humans.