The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-02-28
MOSQUITOES.

The mosquito Is getting TO be more
dangerous than the defective drain
We have already printed the conclu-
sions of scientific men that the mos
quito spreads the germs OF malaria, and
1t Is not SO many years ago that Ha-
wall had chill over the suggestion
that the little insect might inoeulate
the human body with leprosy. Lately
there has been a congress of Pan
American doctors at Havana, from the
proceedings of which we learn chat the
most interesting papers read had to do
with the active agency of mosquitoes
in the propagation of yellow fever.
Surgeon Reed of the United States
Army. as is related in New Orleans
dispatch to-. the New York Sun, showed
the delegates to the Congress the re-
suits of his experiments under this
head. These experiments showed that
yellow fever was contracted through
the curlex faciatus, a species Of mos
|quito peculiar to the South; also that
yellow fever could not be contracted in
any way excepting through the inocu
latfoh of the mosquito and therefore
that the disinfection OF clothes, bag
gage. goods and chattels from yellow
fever infected districts was wholly I'M
necessary.
Says the dispatch: DR. Reed invit-
ed the delegates to Camp Columbia
about ten miles from Havana, to in
vestigate for themselves the practical
results of his experiments with mos
quitoes inoculated with yellow fever
germs. In this camp he had two rooms,
In one room, where there was every
chance of taking the yellow fever, non
inmunes 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 We're taken to another room,
which was inclosed with wire gauze
and In which the inoculated mosquitoes
were placed. Within from three to five
days after entering this room the vol
unteers fell victims to yellow fever All
the delegates who witnessed the details
OF DR.. Reeds experiments were con-
Vlnced that 1t was through the mos
quito bite that yellow fever Is con-
tracted.
Dr. Reed in his experiments and in
Vest1gations found that the female
mosquito alone was capable of injecting
the yellow fever bacillus into a per-
sons system. 1t requires thirteen days
for this bacillus to develop in a mos
quito after the insect has bitten a vel
low fever victim. DR.. Reeds expert
ments showed that yellow fever wss
contracted through injection. II the
disease Is contagious It's contagion
comes through the mosquito injecting
the yellow fever bacillus into the hu-
man system. DR.. Reed tried his ex-
periments with the mosquito on ten
volunteers and IN eacn case the mos
quito alone caused the disease. BY
careful system of nursing each one of
the enforced victims was restored to
health again.
DIR. Filly, the Havana yellow fever
expert; DR.. John Guiteras, who was
formerly professor Of pathology In the
University of Pennsylvania and Is now
professor of tropical diseases In the
University of Havana, and severa!
other physicians read papers concur
ring with DR.. Reed in ascertaining the
cause of the spread of yellow fever.
There are many physicians in the
congress who desired further proof be-
fore finally agreeing to the mosquito
theory. and the matter was held in
allegiance until another meeting Of tire
Pan American congress"
Should a decision be finally reached