Amerikai Magyar Szó, 1983. január-június (37. évfolyam, 1-26. szám)
1983-05-12 / 19. szám
Thursday, May 12. 1983. AMERIKAI MAGYAR SZO 11. Tüdővész R égi betegség. Több ezer évvel ezelőtt is már ismerték a hinduk és a kínaiak. Az ősember csontjaiban és ízületeiben felfedett elváltozások is bizonyítják, hogy az ősember is szenvedett ebben a bajban. Az egyiptomi múmiákban is felfedezték a csonttuberkulózis nyomait. Hippokratész már az időszámításunk e- lőtti V. században leírta a tüdővészt, de még nem tudta, hogy ragályos betegség. Feljegyezte a tüdőbetegek jellegzetes vonásait, a kór tüneteit, a vele járó szövődményeket, amelyek a gégében, a belekben és a gerincen jelentkeznek. A betegeket szervezetük ellenállóképessége- nek a növelésével gyógyította. Nézeteit a római orvosok is átvették, akiknél a tej diéta, a masszírozás és a levegőváltozás volt a kezelés alapja. Ezt a terápiát egészen a XIX. századig alkalmazták. Habár fertőző voltát már az i. e. II. században felismerték, ezt csak a múlt században sikerült bebizonyítani. Jean Antoine Villemin (1827—1892) francia katonasebész, a Val de Grace-i főiskola tanára tu- berkulózisos emberek váladékával fertőzte meg kísérleti állatait, s azok ennek következtében megbetegedtek. Száz évvel ezelőtt, 1882-ben Robert Koch felfedezte a gümőkór bacilusát, s erről beszámolt a nyilvánosságnak. Azt is bebizonyította, hogy a bacilusok nemcsak a gümőkben találhatók meg, hanem minden gócban és a beteg váladékaiban. Sikerült a bacilusokat elkülönítenie és tenyésztenie. Ezért róla nevezték el őket. A múlt század végén a gyógyításban is nagy sikereket értek el. Tüdőszanatóriumokat építettek, 1887-ben megnyitották az első tüdőgondozót, alkalmazni kezdték a pneumothoraxot, azaz a íevegőtöltés-terápiát, valamint a sebészeti gyógykezelést is. Századunkban azután újabb jelentős sikereket értek el. Ezek közül a legjelentősebb az, amikor Waksman 1944-ben felfedezte a strepto- mycint, amely — az entison és PÁS terápiával kombinálva — óriási előrehaladást jelentett a tüdővész gyógyításában. Korunkban a halálesetek a minimálisra csökkentek. Ezt a gyermekek BCG-oltásával, a lakosság felvilágosításával, a tüdószűréssel, a diagnosztika fejlődésével és a korszerű gyógyszerekkel értük el. A múlt században és századunk elején a gümőkór rengeteg ember halálát okozta, ezért fehér pestisnek nevezték. Leginkább a fiatalokat támadta meg. Ma már nyugodtan mondhatjuk, hogy gyógyítható, méghozzá aránylag rövid idő alatt, / szövődmények pedig a legtöbb esetben nincsenek. Természetesen nagyon sok függ a betegtől is, tehát be kell tartania az orvos utasításait, rendszeresen kell szednie a gyógyszereket és ellenőrzésre kell járnia. A tuberkulózisbacilus az esetek 90 százalékában a tüdőt támadja meg, de bármelyik más szervet — a gégét, a hörgőket, a mellhártyát, a beleket — is megtámadhatja. Gyakrabban fordul elő petefészek- és vesetuberkulózis. A többi szerv tuberkulotikus megbetegedése ma már ritkább. Dr. Visnja LESMAJSTER főorvos tüdőspecialista TO THE EDITOR COLUMBUS,O. My parents, Maria and Kálmán Berke were readers of your newspaper for over 50 years. My mother died Sept. 25, 1978 at the age of 75, and my father March 31, 1982. at the age of 86. They were workers who always opened up their house to the people from the paper, when they came to Cleveland, like Eugene Prager, or Louis Bebrits, and the others. I cherish their memory and send you $ 35.- in their honor. Carl Berke, Jr. R E A D t.' R SID ORU M Humanity at the watershed HOW TO SAVE THE HUMAN RACE? The advancement of technology during the past century, but especially during the past few decades, makes it possible to secure a decent living for all mankind if the means of production would be used for that purpose and that purpose alone. This is impossible at the present time and under present conditions, when some 500 billion dollars are spent for war preparations every year and more is contemplated in the coming years. The ongoing arms race is responsible for not only the hunger and suffering of millions, but at the same time endangers the very existence of the human race. Since the end of the II. World War there were continuous endeavors for disarmament, with very limited results. The undeniable fact is that as the years go by the amount of armaments is increasing by leaps and bounds. It is a recognized fact that the USA has enough atombombs to destroy the Soviet Union many times over. It is also a known fact that the Soviet Union has sufficient atombombs to smash the USA many times over. It is an axiom of truth that as more atomic weapons pile up on each side, there is less security for both nations. It is also true that the greater the atomic weapon-power on each side, the greater the danger of an atomic war. In a controlled arms race, the lagging party may make a pre-emptive strike for fear that it might fall too far behind and become dangerously disadvantaged. On the other hand if one party succeeds in developing the laser-weapon and imagines that it has the upper hand, it migth start an atomic war under the false illusion that it can win it. We simply have to recognize one overrinding fact- a fact that is already recognized by millions of people, that as long as the atomic weapons are here the very existence of the human race is endangered. The way, the only way to assure the continuous existence of the human race is to destroy all atomic weapons. How can this be accomplished? Only by the active mobilization of hundreds of millions of people around the world. This is not a dream. The situation is ripe for action. The fact of the matter is that the people are ahead of their leaders. If from the ranks of various churches, religious groups the intellectuals, the industrial workers, the farmers, the politicians, the statesmen, the scientists, the women, the business executives, the academia, dootors, lawyers, military scientists, Committees of One Hundreds would be brought into being - committees which would be ready and willing to head a National Movement for the express aim of destroying all atomic weapons,— millions of people will be more than ready to partake actively in this endeavor. A movement for this purpose is to proceed on all continents in all countries coordinated and synchronized. On June 12, 1982. one million people demonstrated in New York for peace. If such a mass expression for peace would take place on the same day in every hamlet, village, and city in the USA so that not one, but a 100 million people would demand peace and the destruction of all atomic weapons, there is no one that could resist such a power. l.I. BOOK REVIEW: IV1V SHAPING UP YEARS By: Bernie Kay It says on the fly leaf that he was born in 1888, which makes Art Shields 95 years old. Obviously there aren't many folks his age around. As Casey Stengel used to say "most people my age are dead". So when he tells us about historical events, as the Spanish-American War or William Jennings Bryan promising the farmers a silver standard, they have a vitality you can't get in histories. His boyhood was spent in Barbados, where his father was assigned by the Moravian Church. In his early years they were transferred to the Indian Territory, As most kids in those days Art went to work early. We go with him as he travels and works as a miner, steel-worker, seaman and of course, reporter. We meet Bob, the black Civil War vet, who tells him of his participation in the Black Cavalry; how his slave detail was raided by Union troops and once freed he joined the army. He says the Black soldier was decisive in winning the war. Bob stayed in the army after the war and participated in the Reconstruction until the sellout, that pulled back federal troops from the Southern states. We get fascinating anecdotes on Jack London, Bill Haywood, Eugene Debs, Upton Sinclair and of course, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. Art either met them personally or had direct accounts from friends. As a seman he shipped to England during World War I. He meets with English workers and talks with men from the Irish Republican Army 5 months after the Easter uprising. His next stop is Alaska at the time of the Russian Revolution. He describes the excitement among the workers at this historic event. We learn that Lenin's famous "Letter to the American Workers" was the result of a letter by Roy Brown, a Seattle I.W.W. leader. It was smuggled on the Soviet ship Slilka which docked in Seattle six weeks after the fall of the Winter Palace. He has fascinating experiences with the Eskimos. He was in one village on the return of 28 sealhunters. They had been lost on the Bering Sea. The ice floe they were on broke away and took off. They were gone for two weeks, before they hit a land mass and were able to work their way back. The possibility that they could drift south and the floe would just disappear was always there. A possible disaster had become an occasion for rejoicing. They also exchange visits with fellow tribesmen in Siberia a few miles away. Art planned to go on one of these trips, but was hit with the Spanish flu, that swept the world at that time. He was close to death and came out of it with luck and his own determination. The book ends with the end of World War I. There is of course a lot more history and traveling to come. We look forward reading it.
