New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-04-21
VACCINATION IN PORTO RICO.
THE MILITARY GOVERNMENTS TASK OF
PROTECTING THE PEOPLE AGAINST
SMALLPOX

San Juan. April 10.
y AS might be expected. leprosy exists In Porto
Rico; and here. as elsewhere. the cases have to
be ferreted out, for the natives are not alive to
the necessity for isolation. The Board Of Health
In San Juan, with Army officer at it's head.
Is a most efficient body OF men, and II has been
unremitting In its efforts TO cleanse the town,
remove the danger Of epidemics and locate all
those infected with any specific contagious dis
ease such as leprosy and smallpox. SO far ten
cases OF leprosy have been discovered within the
/ limits or San Juan itself. and they have been
isolated in comfortable quarters to the rear OF
the jail on the outskirts of the town. They are
under the care Of a keeper and his wife, who
feed them and wash the clothes OF such are
unable to do It for themselves.
This Is the first attempt ever made in the ISL
and to separate lepers from the rest Of the COM
munity, and the persstency with which rela-
tives. friends. and even neighbors, deceive the
Board OF Health is a most distressing symptom.
Family ties are very strong and sincere among
the Porto Ricans; this. in connection with the
fact that leprosy is not considered any worse
by the natives than an ordinary Illness. will ac-
count for their reluctance to deliver their rea-
tives over to the authorities for exile.
| A poor woman came the other day to the
rooms Of the aid society established by Ameri-
can women in San Juan. This society provides
sewing for needy women. who take the mate
rails home and return the finished article the
next day or So Being questioned by the woman
In charge. this poor woman replied in the most
casual manner that one Of her children had just
died Of leprosy. and she wanted the sewing to
provide food for the others OF course she did
not receive the work. but some food instead
This is a comparatively mild instance, yet 1t
shows that with these people there is no such
thing fear Of infection
1t, is the purpose Of the present military gov
eminent to establish leper colony on an island
near the coast preliminary examination has
already been made, and Luis Peha Island, or
Southwest Cay. has been recommended by the
sanitary inspector fulfilling the two most
important conditions required isolation and self
support
THE SITE FOR THE COLONY
This island is about ten miles off the north
east coast Of Porto Rico. and lies half mile to
the southwest Of the large island called Culebra
or Snake Island. II is little more than a mile
long, about three hundred yards wide and has
a hill four hundred feet high in the middle It
is uninhabited covered with vegetation, and
has several hundred acres Of arabic land It Is
entirely surrounded by barrier reef Of coral
allowing ingress for rowboats at four small
! coves. Rain water alone be obtained and It
/ is estimated that expenditure Of 5000 for
wharf. reservoir and habitable buildings would
enable the leper colony to be established
In the meanwhile. all possible efforts are being
made through the alcaldes and the doctors in the
seventy municipalities Of the island to locate
actual and suspicious cases; and, from results
obtained thus far. the colony will number at
! least twenty-five. although these will not neces-
sarily include all the lepers in Porto Rico.
The natives more afraid Of smallpox
than of pricky heat and II they neglect the
most ordinary sanitary precautions by placing
their latrines inside the kitchen precincts. and
their cesspools next to their cisterns, you may
be sure that they are not particular about hav-
ing a case two Of smallpox in the room with
them. Some evening you suddenly round cor
ner and on the narrow sidewalk you almost run
into a woman whose head is completely wrapped
up in some heavy dark material. and who is be-
ing led by a Involuntarily you take the
middle of the street and. looking back at the
| couple. you wonder whether It is eprosy or
smallpox. You feel treasured on perceivlng a
health officer on their track to locate their
dwelling. These doctors have become so keen
in their hunt after cases that it is dangerous to
appear on the streets with your face and hands
covered with flea or mosquito bites They take
no chances. and will send a of rash to the
detention tents
Yellow fever does not exist anywhere on the
island. and never has existed except when i'm
ported in ships from other places; but smallpox
is both endemic and epidemic II is the dread
disease of Porto Rico. There are at present
about forty cases In San Juan. all isolated in
tents on the parade Of a bastion fronting the
harbor below Moro Castle. In Ponce there are
| tons have not been taken as In San Juan owing
TO repeated changes In health officers and to
lack of system. There. simply yellow flag in
dcates to the passer-by that smallpox RACES
within: and, as far as the layman can see, there
is no effective quarantine. Throughout the ISL
and in almost all the towns and "barrios" (sub-
urbs, so-called, although usually miles away
from the pueblo. there is or less small
pox: and with Spanish methods of non-vac-
cination and non-isoation 1t readily be
seen what scourge this disease must have
been.
The first really great humanitarian measure
Of the American military government was taken
when General Henry issued his order establish
ing the vaccine farm the Coamo River, near
the hot springs Of Coamo. under the direct
charge Of Major DR.. Aze Ames, U. s. A. The
vaccine farm is the greatest experiment Of It's
kind ever attempted In the history Of the world.
for the proposition that confronts the authorities
is the Immediate vaccination of one million
people.
POOR RESULTS FROM IMPERFECT VIRUS
The virus that sent here by the medical
department. both the glycerinated virus in
tubes and the charged ivory points. detertorat-
ed so that no good results were obtained from
hundreds Of vaccinations; moreover. the cost Of
a charged ivory point was 10 cents, which
would have cost for one vaccination Of the peo-
pie 100000. with probably not one good point
among fifty; this expense was very serious
item for depleted treasury. treasury
tanning In it's vaults something like 75 cents
when the Spanards took their departure last
October.
These two conditions then. deteriorated virus
and a depleted treasury. made the vaccine farm