Infectious Disease by The National Library of Medicine

This presentation describes significant developments in the fight against Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The program begins with a description of efforts to determine the cause of the disease. Then studies on the biology and control of the tick are described. Efforts to destroy the tick on a limited scale by livestock dipping are detailed. The identification of the infectious agent in the body of the tick which led to the intensification of research and the development by Drs. Spensor and Parker of the spotted fever vaccine is discussed.

This film shows how a typical county rabies epidemic is checked by joint emergency control measures of the county health department, a state public health veterinarian, and a federal rabies control expert. Shots include: rabid dog; brain exam; news media campaign against rabies via loudspeaker on truck; posters, literature and signs; and dog being inoculated.

This film shows the work of the mobile syphilis detection and treatment unit of McIntosh, Glynn, and Camden counties in rural southeastern Georgia. The inside of the mobile clinic is shown. The films shows the route taken and the unit going into canneries, wood pulp factories, logging camps, country dance halls, elementary schools, and churches to treat patients with bismuth and arsphenamine injections. It shows both the Kahn and Wasserman blood tests and explains how to read the results.

The purpose of this presentation is to illustrate the problems and emotional crises faced by a family when the young mother contracts tetanus. This is achieved in a dramatized portrayal of her life and activities using a flashback technique. The program stresses the importance of immunization, which is virtually 100% effective. In this presentation the mother is shown critically ill in the acute stage of tetanus following a superficial skin scratch while gardening.

This film addresses the problem of syphilis in teenagers. The opening scene depicts a couple of teenage boys meeting girls at a club in a city. It is implied that they have sex. One of the boys, Don, is later seen leaving a dance with his girlfriend, Betty. On their way home, he convinces her to have sex with him. She is visibly upset afterwards, and he appears to feel guilty. He soon notices a sore, and mentions it to the friend who went to the city with him. The friend advises him to just ignore it and let it go away on its own, but Don decides to see a doctor anyway.

This program presents filmed sequences of a group of twenty-nine villagers from Sahneh who had been attacked by a rabid wolf. Filmed sequences of one villager taken at various times during his disease, are presented to illustrate the clinical course and manifestations of the disease in this man. The man is seen after he is bitten but before he manifests symptoms overtly, the third day of his disease, and the fifth day of the disease. Scenes taken as the patient dies are also included. A doctor is also shown as he apparently examined the man to verify that death has occurred.

The conditions which necessitate hand-ditching are outlined. The proper engineering and digging techniques for the construction of swamp drainage ditches are presented. Shots include: swamps in South Carolina; inspector in a swamp dipping for larvae; putting the larvae in vials for shipment to a laboratory; spray larvaciding on foot; surveying the swamp for ditching; work crews digging drainage ditches; swamp water running through the ditches; intersections of the ditches.

The film begins with a plea to the viewer to buy Christmas seals. In film graphics, the story of a young man named Rodney is told. Rodney walks through his town and visits his physician for a yearly physical examination. An X-ray suggests tuberculosis. Further tests are done, and the diagnosis is confirmed. The doctor outlines the process of infection and the population at risk. The necessity of rest cure is explained. Rodney is shown in a tuberculosis sanitorium as his physician tells him that tuberculosis can be cured in any climate with rest and proper food.

Primary stage: The characteristic lesions of early syphilis are shown on the penises of infected men and in the genital area of women. Gloved hands palpate a penis for interior chancre; a woman is vaginally examined with the aid of a speculum and a cervical sample is taken with a swab. Lip and finger chancres are shown. Non-syphilitic lesions of the penis are shown. Diagnosis by repeated blood tests of all persons with suspect lesions is required. The taking of a smear for dark field examination is shown. The spirochaeta is shown under the microscope on a dark field.

Published in Washington, DC: The Service, [1942] This film outlines the individual's role in combatting syphilis through education, blood tests, prompt medical treatment, and avoidance of quacks. Shots includes montage of quack remedies for venereal disease. Produced by United States. Public Health Service.