Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-12-13
MALARIAL FEVER.

nature. Second How does it enter
the human system. Third. What is its
mode Of action in the body.
Malarial or Marsh Miasm is conceded
by the world of investigators to be due
to minute vegetable organism. This
vegetable germ, called a BACILLUS, exists
IN sufficient quantity and quality to be
deleterlous to man in the regions around
the equator between the parallels OF
latitude 81 degrees south, and 63
degrees north. The germ undoubtedly
exists beyond these parallels of latitude
but not in sufficient quantity or quality
to be destructive to man, because cold
temperature destroys its action
The germ does not prevail over the
entire region between So degrees north
and 81 degrees south, but almost the
whole of malaria exists in various places
in this belt of the earth. Even in this
Zone of the globe there are high eleva-
tions which lessen its violent action on
man. Malaria will occur, however,
II 900 feet above the sea level. At the
top of some mountains marshes exist to
some extent and in these places malaria
persists.
Now, the malarial germ requires for
its existence and perpetuity similar
conditions to other vegetable organisms.
The leading features of the natural
history of this germ are almost in exact
accord with other minute germs, espec
tally that of dysentery and Yellow
fever. The nearer the equator and the
hotter and dryer the weather the more
malignant the type of fever.
1t has been observed that there must
be a properly circumstanced breeding
place for the germ that causes malarial
fever.
These are the specific germ itself, suit
able breeding soil, suitable high temper
ature, suitable amount of moisture, and
lastly sufficient time for the develop
ment and growth. When all the above
conditions closely coincide for a few
weeks the poisonous activity of malaria
begins to manifest itself among the
inhabitants. As to the specific germ it
is always present but sometimes favora
bic concurrent conditions make it
either in quantity or quality a deadly
enemy to man. Inhabitants of whole
regions become sadly deteriated by its
acute and chronic persistence, tending
to unfruitfulness and death.
A suitable soil or breeding place is the
most salient feature that has attracted
the attention of men.
The observation of marsh fever or
malaria has stretched over almost 1000
years. 1t was at first thought to be
limited to marshes, but scientific exper-
iments have dispelled that idea. The
fevers described by Josephus were
without doubt malaria. Prof. Klebs of
Prague, and Prof. Crudeli of Rome,
examined the soil, the stagnant water
and the lower strata of air in malarial
regions. The stagnant water showed
no results, but there was found in the
soil and air the germ of malaria. This
germ inocculated into dogs or other
animals produces typical malaria fever,
having chills and fever, the recognized
enlarged spleen and liver. Roman
physicians have found the malarial
germ IN the body of man especially in
the spleen which constantly bears the
brunt of the attack. The favorable
breeding soil is, the deltas of rivers,
estuaries, marshes and low rice planta-
tions. All of these places were once
flooded and then dried by the hot sun
and winds. Scarcely any of those
places will develop much malaria until
well dried by long hot weather giving
proper time and location for its develop
ment and growth.
All marshes are not malarial. Their
capacity to bring forth malaria depends
on the amount of water they hold.
Marshes full of water rarely show fever
but the thinner the sheet of water the
more malaria. Dried up and parched
marches develop the most malignant
malarial. The dried, parched bottoms
of the marshes generate malarial germs
beyond computation. If rains sub
merge the dried swamps, malaria is
arrested. Salt marshes are generally
free if they rest on sand substrata.
But those marshes with clay, mud OF
limestone substratum abound in NAL
aria. The upheaval of new soil as the
construction of a canal, a railroad, the
breaking up of new land, will often
precede an epidemic. The most impor-
tant thing for an inhabitant of q
malarial region to know is that the germ
| floats IN the atmosphere and that he is
constantly breathing it. The notable
breeding places of malarial fever are,
the southern portions of North Ameri-
ca, the Pontine marshes of Italy, The
Indies and particularly Africa which
DR.. Livingstone so well described. II
is the fever that devastates Hungary
1t is pre-eminently a fever of hot
climates.
The most notable observations con-
nected with malaria the past few years
has been TEMPERATURE. The most
pestiferous regions and the most malig-
nant fevers occur in the dry hot places
near the equator. 1t is found that man
is not attacked by it if the temperature
falls below a daily average of IS degrees
The reason that malaria exists after 6
frost is that patients have been pre-
viously infected. An outbreak of dis