The Portland daily press., 1901-02-15
MOSQUITOES AND YELLOW
FEVER.
E1perIments In Havana 60 show That
the Disease is spread solely by Them.

New Orleans, February 12 Several of
the American delegates TO the Pan
American Medical Congress reached here
today from Havana, where the congress
was held. All agree that the most inter
esting papers read were those in regard
to yellow fever Infection. DR.. X. y.
Marcour, surgeon OF the United States
Navy and Secretary of the Society on
Maritime and Quarantine. thought the
papor read by DIR. Walter Resd, of the
United States Army, the best DIR. Resd,
he said, showed to the delegates the ex-
periments he has tried with the mosqui-
to These experiments demonstrated that
yellow fever was contracted through the
oulex faciatus, a peculiar species OF mos
quito in the south; also that yellow fs-
YER could not be contracted in any way
excepting through the incubation OF the
mosquito, and therefore that the disin-
feotion OF clothes, baggage and goods
and chattels from yellow fever infected
districts was who lily Unnecessary.
DIR. Reed Invited the delegates to Camp
Colum bia, about ten miles from Havana,
to invssti gate for tn smselves tie pTacti-
cal results OF his experiments with mos
quitoes inoculAtsd with yellow fever
germs. in this camp he had two rooms.
In one room, where there was every
chance OF taking the yellow fever. nom
immunss lived twenty-five days, eating
and sleeping there, and no sign OF the
disease became manifest in any OF them
These volunteers even wore the paJAmas
OF yellow fever patients who had died
from the disease Then the volunteers
gah
incIosed with wire gauze, and In whicn
the inoculated mosquitoes were placed.
Within from three to i've days after en-
tering this room the volunteers fell Vic-
tins TO yellow fever. All the delegates
who witnessed the details of Dr. Reed
experiments were convinced that 1t was
through the mosquito bite that yellow
fever Is contracted
DR. Reed In his experiments and inVes
LEGATIONS found that the female mosquito
alone was capable Of injecting the yellow
fever bacillus into person system lt
requires thirteen days for this bacillus TO
develop in q mosquito after the insect has
bitten q yellow fever victim. Dr. Reeds
experiments showed that yellow fever
WAS contracted through Injection, II
the disease is contagious It's contaglon
comes through the mosquito in1"csing
the yellow fever bacillus into the human
sy stem. Dr. Heed tried his experiments
with the mosquito on ten volunteers and
In each cass the mosquito alone caused
the disease BY careful sy stem OF nurs-
ing each one of the enforced victims was
restored TO health again
Dr. Filly, the Havana yellow fever ex-
pert: Dr. John 9uieteras, who was
formerly professor of pathology In the
UniyerSity OF Pennsylvania, and is now
professor of tropical diseases In the Uni
ysrsity OF Havana. and several other
nhysicians read papers concnrring with
Dr. Reed In ascertaining the cause or
the spread of yellow fever.
There were many physicians In the con-
Qress who desired further proof before n
nally agreetng to the mosquito theory,
and the matter was held in allegiance un-
til another meeting of the Pan-American
Congress.