The age-herald., 1901-10-12
SOLDIERS ENJOY
 GOOD HEAL HI  Annual Report of the Surgeon General for 1900 ALCOHOLISM DECREASING
  The Regulars Are Less Prone to DIs- ease Than the volunteers-The Conditions In Cuba Have
 Greatly Improved.
ALCOHOLISM DECREASING

Washington, October n-Surgeon Gen. eral Sternberg's annual report to the secretary of war says the health of the army was unusually good during the call endar year 1900.
 The admission rate to hospitals for all causes in the army volunteers and regu- lars, mith a mean strength of 100. 3ss in 1900 was 2,si1.s1 per Thousand of strength as compared with 217S.06 in the previous year; but during the year 1899 only 39, ,2SO men out of total of io5,545 were serving in the Philippines, while during the past year 66.S82 of total of 1oO,Ss9 were thus serving. In the Philippine Islands, with mean strength of 66.ss2 the admission rate was 2,621s6, as compared with g. 3s552 in the previous year, this increase being mainly due to disease among the volunteers. the ration ,or which rose from 1,s5s21 to 2,7sl he regulars on the other hand, sl'0 a marked de- crease in the ration ( lmission of di- sease which fell from 2.454.1o to 2,1s7.7S Two-thirds of the admission for disease were caused by malaria levers and diarr- hoeal diseases. The deaths from all causes amounted to 2s.B per thousand of strength as compared with 3o.6S in the previous year. Disease caused 202e deaths. the principal cause being ,dysen- tery, which. with other intestinal di- seases, gave a rate of sos. The rate from injury amounted to S.49
 The death rate in China was 47.76 per thousand of strength. 2S.s2 from disease and 24.14 from injury.
 From the close of the fiscal year 1900 to the latest reports. the health of the trops in the Philippines has been steadily improving |
 The health of the troops in Cuba dur ing the year was excellent. As result Of American occupation, nearly every city and town has had its sanitary condi- tions improved.
 Speaking of the special disease, Gen eral Sternberg says: The steady de- crease of late years in the admissions for alcoholism among the men of the regular army is a matter for congrarulation. Mill itary officers may be said to be unarii- nous in their opinion. that this may be through the establishment of post ex- changes or canteens at military posts. There Is less drunkenness among the troops In active service than in a com mand doing garrison duty in times of peace"
 Study of Yellow Fever.
 Reporting upon the study of yellow fever by a board in Cuba, General Stern berg says: The results obtained were especially valuable, showing that the bacillus icteroides bears no causative re- taxation to yellow fever, and that the mosquito serves as an intermediate host for the parasits of this disease. Further experiments of most interesting char acter demonstrated that yellow fever ia transmitted to non-immunes by the bite Of mosquito that has previously fed on the blood of those sick with this disease that yellow fever can also be produced by the .subcutaneous injection of blood taken from the general circulation dur ing the first and second days of the dis ease, that an attack Of yellow fever pro- duced by the bite of mosquito confers immunity against the subseuuent injec- ton of infected blood; that yellow fever is not conveyed by clothing, bedding or merchandise soiled by contact with those sick with the disease; that a house may be said to be infected with yellow fever only when there are present in 1t mos- quitoes capable of conveying the parasite or the disease. and that the spready of yellow fever can be most effectively con- trolled by measures directed to the de- destruction of mosquitoes and the pro- lection of the sick against the bities of these insects"
 General Sternberg says the results of investigation are of far-reaching im- portance as the surgeons are now in pos- sesion Of knowledge which enables them to stamp out yellow fever.