Dr. Explores Mono Causes

Over one-half of the freshman class will be asked to contribute blood samples for an extensive study of mononucleosis conducted by Willard Dalrymple '43 of the University Health Services.

The samples will be used to determine the relationship between the so-called "kissing disease," mono, and a disease with similar symptoms, toxoplasmosis. Dr. Dalrymple, the leading expert on mono, is working in association with Dr. Jack S. Remington of Boston City Hospital.

Referring to an article in Time Magazine last week, Dr. Dalrymple called the "kissing disease" theory "naive." The theory is based on the discovery of Dr. Robert J. Hoagland, a West Point physician, who found that among 73 cadet mono patients, 71 had been involved in "deepkissing" within the past six weeks.

Dr. Dalrymple argued that "to establish this theory just because a few cadets who had been doing some kissing contracted the disease, one would have to assume that the thousands of cadets who did not become ill had not been doing the same thing."

Married Students as Check

In a study of mono among marired business School students, Dr. Dalrymple found that when a patient contracted the disease his wife rarely showed symptoms.

Attacking the popular belief that the mono virus most often strikes the overworked, he asserted that fatigue is a result of mono, not a cause of it. The disease is wide-spread on college campuses simply because of the large number of young people there. One experience with mono is usually sufficient to cause immunity--one would no more expect to find it in older people than chickenpox," he said.

For the past year, Darymple has kept close tabs on students committed to Stillman infirmary fo rmono. They must take a blood test before entering the infirmary, and are requested to take another several months after their discharge.

Such studies have already produced preliminary findings, some of which Darymple will be ready to publish soon.