The Portland daily press., 1900-10-12
MOSQUITOES ARE GUILTY
Evidence That They Are the Distribu-
tors of Malaria Germs.
(Neg York SunO

der the advice OF DR.. Manson and the
Council Of the London School Of Tropical
Medi,ine, Mr.. Chamberlain, the Colonial
Secretary, consented to provide a mos
quito-proof hut to be set up in the worst
part of the Roman Campagna. A spot
was selected near Ostia, in a part OF the
Campagna which is so infested by ma
laria that no one who spends q night
there under ordinary conditions escapes
the effects Of the position. Drs. Sambon
and Low Of The School of Tropical Medi-
cine, and Signor Terri, an Italian artist,
with two Italian servants, entered upon
their residence in the mosq proof hut
in June, Since then they have been at
liberty to go where they like during the
day, as the mosquitoes only feed during
the night, but from an hour before sunset
to an hour after sunrise they have re-
mained in the hut They take no quin-
Inc or other drug which might be regard
ed as prophylactic. Inasmuch as the
''malar1al'' season will not be over for
another six weeks the experiment is
not yet finished. The omens for success,
however, are propitious.
A rumor having been circulated In
Italy that the experiment had proved
failure the British Medical Journal made
inquiries at the School Of Tropical Medi-
cine. At its instance the tenants of the
mosquito-proof hut were visited on Sept.
- by Prof, Grassi, who was accompanied
By Doctors Voc and Foa, his assistants,
by Prof. Rossi of Cagliari and by DR..
Zupitza, assistant to Prof. Yoeht at the
Hamburger School of Tropical Medicine.
The result was the following telegram to
DR.. Manson: assent bled in British
mosquito-proof hut, and having verified
perfect health OF experimenters amid
maIaria-st stricken Inhabitants, Italian
doctors salute Manson, who first formu-
lated mOsquito-maIarial theory
.GRASSI."
Commenting upon this the British
Medical Journal says: "We may now,
with as much confidence as the uncer-
tainty of human things warrants, look
forward to a successful completion of
this important experiment.. 1t
is clear that if the formula, No mosquito,
truth Of the matter, it may for practical
purposes be taken as a guiding principle
by cOlOnists and pioneers in tropical
climes.'
What may be regarded for practical pur-
poses as an experiment. of the same kind
as that not yet completed in the Roman
Campagna is now being conducted in
West Africa, DR.. Elliott, a member of
the Liverpool expedition sent to Nigeria
Inn IN fino to ho ioof
of maIarial fever, has recently returned
to England He reports that the MEM
bers OF the expedition have been per-
feotly well, although they have spent four
months in some of the most malariOuS
spots. They lived practically among
marshes and other places supposed to be
the most deadly. They have not kept the
fever off by the uss Of quinine, and they
attribute their immunity to the careful
use of mosquito nets at night.
AS a compliment to the preventive ex-
periments In the Campagna 1t was ar
ranged that attempts should be made to
prove that malaria would be contracted
by perfectly healthy person, who had
never entered a "malariOus" locality,
If he w5re bitten by mosquitoes brought
thence. Mosquitoes raised from the egg
in laboratory which had had no previ-
Gus opportunity of obtaining fever para
sites were to be fed in Rome on patients
in whose blood the parasites of tertian
ague were ascertained by the microscope
to be present. The insects were then to
be sent to London and fed on vegetables
juices until proper time had been given
for the fever germs to reach their venom
glands. They were then to be liberated
in a small mosquito house in which one
or more healthy Englishmep, who had
never been in malariOus country, were
asleep. In pursuance Of this programme
three patches of anOpheles were fed in
Roma by DR.. Bastianeln on three sepa-
rate patients suffering from tertian fever,
and were forwarded in cages to the Lon
don School of Tropical Medicine. Dr.
Manson's son, Mr.. p. L. Manson, con-
sented to be the subject of the exeriment,
and was bitten every second day by the
insects until they died, usually about ten
days after their arrival in London Ths
first batch was fed in London in the
first and second weeks Of July, the sec.
Ond at the end OF August, and the last
during the second week of this month.
Mr.. Manson remained in perfect heslth
until the morning OF the 18th inst.
when he was suddenly attacked by head
ache, bone ache, lassitude and loss of ap-
petite, with rise Of temperature to 102
degrees. On the 10Th there was distinct
intermiss1on during the forenoon. High
fever, with temperature Of 104 degrees,
set in about p. NJ, with delirium, and
was relieved during the night by profuss
perspiration. The same series of events
recurred on the 18th, AMI on the morning
of the 18th tertian parasites we're found
in his blood. The nature of the Illness
was verified, and the parasites were seen,
not only by DR.. Manson himself, but by
several other competent observers, among
whom were DR.. Frederic Taylor, Mr..
Watson Cheyne, F. r. S. Lieut.-CoI
Baker, I. N. s. DR.. Galloway, Mr..
James Camille and DIR. Oswald Brown.
Mr.. Manson's fever is considered to be
due probably to the mosquitoes which
bit him in August. The delay In the ap-
pearance Of the symptoms may have been
due either to the condition of the insects
which first attacked him or more proba-
bly, to the need for some lapse OF time
after the parasites were introduced into
his blood before thsy had multiplied suffi
clently to become effective causes OF fever.
Mr.. Manson Is not likely to sustain any
permanent injury or inconvenience from
his plucky experiment. The tertian
parasite is not virulent and is easily
killed by quinine. This has been ad-
ministered, and Mr.. Manson has had no
subsequent recurrence Of fever, although
a few parasites can be still detected in