The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-08-13

There IL No Doubt Now But That They are
Dangerous.

There IL No Doubt Now But That They ar
| Dangerous.
New York, Aug. 12.-The dangerou
illness of Miss Dorothy Dodwortf, Of No
10s East I25th street, due to the bite o
a mosquito, has directed renewed atten
ton TO a danger which has been treated
hitherto as imaginative. That this LITTLE
pest, which has been regarder as merely
as one Of summers Inconvenience, car
| inict a wound which may result in dis
| ablement or death, is now well proven
1t was feared for a time that Miss bod
worth would die, but her sister. who ma:
returned from Elmhurst, L. l., where
the afflicted girl is visiting, brings WORD
that she has passed the DANCED point
and is now convalescent.
| Deaths from mosquito bites have beer
reported as far back as 1889. In March
of that year John J. Collins, an insane
! patient, escaped from the asylum al
| Snake Hill. n. j., and wandered for sew
| eral days in the Hackensack Meadows
When found ne had been terribly bit
| ten by mosquitoes, and he died in spite
| Of medical care. Charles M,ngard, OF
Hoboken, n. j., died from a similar
cause In September, 1889. A more recent
| case was that OF Carl Head, of ST
Louis. who died in September last from
the effects of a single bite.
j. R. Flynn, a private in the Thirteenth
infantry, stationed at Governors Island,
was bitten on the neck on July "a, and
only prompt medical attendance prevent
ed serious complications. The insect
punctured an arterial vein, and Flynn
lost great amount of blood.
lido cases besides Miss Dodworth' S
have been reported within few days.
Richard Wolf, Of No. 1924 Second ave-
nue., was bitten on the arm on Wednes-
day. Within a few hours the arm had
had swollen TO nearly twice its ordinary
size, and a doctor was called TO relieve
the mans intense suffering. The pa
trent is still in serious condition.
Thomas MsGrath, an inspector in the
Custom House, was bitten on the right
hand several days ago. He thought the
wound trivial, but symptoms Of blood
poisoning developed, and on Friday he
asked to be relieved from duty. A doc
tor is attending him.
Cases less serious than these are re-
portedI every day, and there are un-
numbered instances in which temper
ary Disagreement, accompanied by great
pain, has been caused by the bite of this
insect
This record, fragmentary as it is con-
victs the mosquito Of being menace to
life and health. Physicians so regard it.
DR.. Frank E. Miller, OF No. IS West
,.ys-r-
''The mosquito undoubtedly IS capable
of infiicting a fatal wound. Theinsect is
bred and fostered in decayed matter, and
it is the transfer Of the germs of this
fetid substance to the blood of the VIC
tim that causes the complications. The
poison is injected into the blood and then
circulated throughout the system.
The most fatal spot to be attacked is
just behind the ear. A person bitten on
one of the veins there by a mosquito
inoculated with the poison of putrid mat
ter would be in imminent danger OF
death, for the poison would reach the
heart and brain within a few minutes.
The puncture Of large vein also would
be highly dangerous.
Tine constitution Of the victim has
much to do with the effect Of the bite
A person whose blood was thin or dis
eased would be much more liable to
serious injury than one who was strong
and healthy. A patient came TO me re-
Gently within an hour after he had been
bitten, yet already his arm was swollen
70 almost thrice its natural size. He had
been bitten over a large blood vessel
The extraordinary danger from mos
quito bites just now IS due to the hui
Nudity of the seacon, which has produc-
ed large quantities Of decayed matter.
upon which the insects thrive, and from
which they derive the fatal poison"
An interesting. though not a comfort
ing. fact concerning the mosquito is that
t can communicate the disease known as
anthrax. believed 10 be identical with
the plague OF olden times. James T.
Whitaker, in the American Text Book
of Medicine. is authority for this state
ment Anthrax is the direct result OF
from diseased animal matter.
The symptoms will be recognized by
those who have suffered from MOSQUITO
bites.
The period OF inocula ton varies from
one to several days. The symptoms may
show themselves within an hour OF in
oculation; they may be delayed as late
as four days. A slight itching. prickling
sensation is first perceived al the site OF
Very soon there appears a
central vesicle, the rupture of which dis
charges bloody contents, to be converted
in 10 q dark. redLorown or black crust,
the anthrax
InnUmerable remedies have been put |
forth for relief from the bite OF the mos
quito. The application OF oil OF penny
royal IS recommended by many physic- |
ians as the most efficaciouS The use of |
alkalies. such as liquid ammonia or So |
luton OF bic3rbonate OF soda or Of pot |
ash, is also OF benefit. Lint soaked in |
and laid on the bite gives
srea, relief, and ipecacuanha applied ex-
is said to be beneficial When |
serious results are threatened the patient |
should De stimulated with brandy. am /
nonia or either, 10 counteract the synp-
toms Of syncope or coma, such as ep- |
pared in the case Of Miss Dodworth.
To rid a district Of a plague Of mos
luit0es the liberal use OF crude petrol |
Gum has been recommended. An ex-
pertinent made on Friday a: Staten Isl
ana seemed 20 show the efficacy OF the
ichene. The company controlling Mid
and Beach, a summer resort. took ex-
measures TO comba, a plague
Z mosquitoes. A large salt marsh near
he Place. which had been a prolific
breeding ground for the insects was the
Gene Of operations. A large area of the
ground was saturated with crude petrol
uul, sprayed from force pumps with ball