Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1883-09-29

theory" Of disease, the punctures of probosci
dian insects, like those Of rasicur's needles.
deserve consideration, as probable means 10y
which bacteria and other germs may be nocu-
lated into human bodies 50 rs TO infect the
blood and give rise to specific fevers. II has
long ago been demonstrated that malignant
pustulc is produced in man by the bite Of
fly british Medical Journal, January 24,
1858, p. 7jol DR.. Budd, in the article just
quoted, refers to the greater frequency Of this
disease in hot, dry summers, where insect life
is active and tecming and this. he thinks,
would 60 iar TO explain the greater frequency
Of the malignant pustulc in Burgundy than in
England and the north Of France, as also its
greater frequency in Siberia and Lapand,
where insects Of the mosquito tribe are the
great pest Of the traveller. In Lapland the
popular belief was long ago universal that the
disease was caused 10y peculiar insect, which
suddenly descended from the air, and as sud
denly disappeared. In the London Times
tIS6ol it is reported that -four hundred persons
lost their lives in the south OF Russia and in
the province Of kiev from the sting Of a
"ycncmous lly" imported from Asia, sixty oi
seventy years before Nrchow, who has made
malignant pustulc a special study. says "M Most
probably, insects with piercing rrobosccs effect
the incubation, such as gadilics (Brcmsc) but
flies which make no wound may also impant
the poison on the skin 10y their soilcd wings
and feet The bites Of these same flies may
be generally harmless they have no venemous
power Of their own, but only convey poison
from sources Of infection to man and animals.
| Furthermore when it is remembered that
diseasc.producing bacteric germs are 90 minute
that million may rest on the head OF pin,
and that the smallest puncture Of the finest
needIe-poini las in gas'eiO experiments with
chicken cholcral, when cRMgcd wi,h.an atom
of injecting matter, may be sufficient to infect
the body with the septic matter, il scarcely
seems possible to ignore any longer the pune.
lures Of mosquitoes and other proboscidian
| insects as possible sources OF both infection
and contagion. With our present knowledge
Of the germ theory" one would hardly dare,
even once, to plunge an inoculating needle into
the blood Of a yellow-fcver OF typhus.fcver
patient, whether living and comotose or re-
Gently dead, and then withdraw it and plunge
it into his own blood OF the blood of other
persons, yet this is exactly what the mosquito
is doing in nearly every yellow fever epidemic,
and what, perhaps, the flea is doing in the
filthy iails and ships infested with typhus In
the yellow-fcvcr instance, it is TO be noted,
also, that the spread Of the disease ceases with
frost; so also do the pcregrinations of the
mosquito.
There is no medical man on these
islands who has been here sufficiently
long to have studied the history of the
origin and spread of leprosy through
out the country but that considers it
contagious. The testimony of all the
physicians who we're called at the late
libel suit was to that effect and not
ably so the testimony of two of the
oldest and most reputable among
them, and who have had the most ex-
tended experience with the disease
Doctors l'rousseau and Stangenwald.
The former Of these gentlemen stated
distinctly, on the stand, his beliefin the
communicability of the disease through
the agency of mosquitoes, heas, and
flies and it was upon such opinions
as these that we based our assertion
that the Aebey hOsbitai at hakaako is a
Standiag meaofe to tie population Of Tie
tenn. Independent, however, of medi-
cal opinion, any intelligent person
familiar with the social history of these
islands must arrive at the same con-
clusion. From single case existent
here bu, thirty years ago, the disease
has spread TO thousands, and now en-
braces among its victims about one
in twenty-five or thirty of the entire
native population. Nearly three thou
sand lepers have been sent to the
asylum on Molokai since its first incep-
ton, while we have many more, either
at large or at kakaako. Do we want
more than such data to establish the
fact of contagion
From the slowness OF its period OF
incubation many unthinking people have
been led to infer that the disease is
non-contagious, and are ready in JUS
tilication OF their belief to point to
cases where healthy persons have been
in constant contact with lepcrs for one,
two, or five, years, without having con.
tracted the disease. The absurdity OF
such reasoning however is made mani
tested when we consider that five years
is about the average length of time re
quired for it to develope after its germs
have first been received into the system,
and that ii may often be ten or twelve
years before symptoms are manifested.
Also, that in certain forms of the
!, disease, its progress is so slow and its
, external manifestations SO obscure as
to rquire years before they become
! visible to the casual observer. We
must confess, however, that there are
cases of seeming immunity among in
dividuals who have lived for many years
ON terms of intimacy with lepers; bu,
this is the exception and not the rule
whole families often becoming infected
) from single individual. But however
,, this may be, before we can logically
deny the truth of the contagion theory
we must first explain how a new disease
introduced among a people previously
, free from it, can from single case, in
one generation only, be propagated tc
several thousands, We do not believe
the logician to exist who can make the
explanation. That the disease may b,
propagated too by other means thar
mere contact with lepers, we also believe
to be fact. The writer many year.
since propounded the theory of its com
municability through the agency of pro
boscidcan insects; most notably mos
quitoes and neas. 1t is most uncom
Portable theory to such as had depended
upon their own self-righteousness fol
protection, while they were content to
believe with Mr., Fitch, that sufferer:
from leprosy were but receiving theil
"just reward" for former transgressions
Uncomfortable as such theory may be
there is nevertheless much data at hanc
in its support. l, is only when healti
consideration cease to be made subser
Went to those of politics, that the intelli
gent people of this community ma,
, again feel secure.