Scalping Little Boys

Reupholstering chairs is simple compared with reupholstering little boys. But New York City's doctors were busy on both last week. Reason: the first epidemic of scalp ringworm in the U.S.--mostly on little boys.

It all started in Queens, where, doctors believe, some feckless fub with a ring-wormy scalp rested his head on the back of a public seat. He thereby infected many other little Queens boys who lolled back in the same seat. They infected more chairs, more little boys. Then some little Queens boys infected chair backs and friends in Manhattan, and ringworm (a fungus infection caused by Microsporon audouini) began its vicious circle. Now there are infected seats in New York City's cinemansions, barber shops, subways and busses.

Boys are the chief victims. A Manhattan doctor explained that more boys than girls catch ringworm "because boys have short hair and scuffle more." Girls are protected by long hair and decorum.

A ringwormy moppet must stay away from school until cured. The minimum curing time for ringworm is a month. X rays are the only way of getting at the fungus around the roots of the hair. To be effective, the rays must make infected hair fall out. Sometimes hair roots get killed in the process. What with new cases and slow-curing cases (if one X-ray treatment does not kill the ringworm fungus, another cannot be given safely for six months), so many Queens moppets are under ringworm quarantine that a special school for ringworm students has been started. But at least one clinic doctor believes that eventually the epidemic will end. Says he: "Pretty soon we will run out of kids."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.