The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-03-02
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SCIENTIFIC SALAD
Yellow Fever Again.

NIoN THAT we have before us tue luIl ahd
~ authentic report Of the proceedings Of the
Pan.Amercan Medical congress held in Havana,
fourth to seventh OF February. the most inn
portant subject of which was tho presentation
and discussion OF the report of the special yellow
fever commission, wc are able to form an un.
biased opinion and to estimate TO some degrees
TN. far.rcaching influence which the findings OF
this commission will have upon the theories OF
the CduSation Of disease and Of contagion and
injection, as well as in regard TO vaccination
and preventive inocnlation. which at the pres.
cnt day prevail in the medical mind. DivcSted
OF all technical terms and obscure language these
findings may be summarized in plain English
as follows:
Yellow fever cannot he communicated by con-
tact with the patient nor with the clothes or
other articles worn by patient before and dur
ing the course OF the disease, although they may
be imprcgnltcd with the cXcrction Of the body
and il. therefore, not contagious II can, how.
ever, be communicated by incubation II a
small quantity of blood from yellow fever
patient, taken during the first two days OF the
disease is injected into a healthy individual.
r. however, the blood is taken later in the
disease, before the attack has set in no result
is obtained.
This disease is communicated, however, ordn.
nily by, aud only by, the bite OF a particular
kind Of mosquito Uhc CulcX isacinatus) ii thu:
insect has previously bitten yellow fever
patient during the first two days of the attack;
it. was also demonstrated that it takes twelve
days for the specific poison TO develop in the
mosquito, and that healthy individuals bitten
by such inocCuatcd mosquitoes before the
twelfth day after tho contamination Of the in
sect showed no symptoms of the disease, while
those bitten after the twelfth day, without
exception, were stricken with yellow fever after
lapse Of time (period OF incubation) Of from
torty-siX hours 10 six days. Distinction of
houses and belongings Of yellow fever patients
tfumigation Of letters from yellow fever dstricts)
and quardntining OF passengers from infected
localities would therefore be unnecessary, pro-
rded the mosquito is destroyed
The report winds up with saying: 'While the
mode Of propagation Of yellow fever has now
been definitely determined the specific cause Of
this disease remains to be discovered" In the
numerous reports OF yellow fever epidemics in
this county and abroad, and in the lengthy
and cI1lditc dissertations on the nature OF this
dread disease in medical literature, we find that
the theory Of contagion was hy no means uni.
vcr,ally accepted by medical authorities. and
was disputed early as 1872 by Dr. n. Colomar
in his report on tho yellow fever epidemic in
1871 in Spain, SO that we can readily accept the
demonstration Of the commission OF the non.
oontagiousncss of yellow fever There are, how.
ever, many pecularities in the transmission OF
the disease remarked in medical literature which
cannot as yet he fully explained ly accepting
the statement that the mesquite Is the only
carrier OF the disease virus. II is true, we can
explain why General Butler succeeded in stamp.
ing out yellow fever in New Orleans by estab.
li-hing proper sewerage in the city, and thu,
make it healthy for tho human Inhabitants. bnt
unhealthy tor the Culey Fascinatus MOSQUITO, and
that the cpidcmcs invariably cease TO eyist
when the average temperature of the air falls