The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-08-16
MOSQUITOES and Malaria

Mosquitoes and Malaria
The most prevalent disease in North
Carolina, certainly from now until frost,
is malarial fever in one form or another.
1t is by no means confined to the low
lying eastern section of the state, but is
quite abundant in may localities in the
hill country, having been reported even
from Cherokee.
By recent scientific Investigations the
cause of the fever has been shown to be
a microscopic animal known as the plaS-
modium malariae or hem-amoeba WAX,
which feeds upon the red corpuscles OF
the ~blood-hence the pallor of persons
suffering from chonic malaria. The de-
velopment of this little parasite in the
blood is as follows: One of the spores,
or baby germs, so to speak, enters a
red ~corpuscle and feeding or its con-
tents, grows until at the end of tweny-
-four houS it has become nearly as large
as the corpuScle. 1t then, by a process
known as augmentation, splits up into a
dozen or more little spores again, which
for a short time are free in the blood
and unattached to the ~corpuScleS. 1t is
just as the augmentation occurs that
the chill comes on, which explains the
periodic recurrence of the chill every
tw~enty-four hours. and as it has been
found that q%uinine is most effective in
killing the germs while they are free in
the blood and not buried in the sub
stance OF the corpuScleS, the best time
to give Quinine is just before the chill
is expected.
The method of the Introduction of the
malarial poison, the plasmodium, GER
tainly the chief method, has been dem
onstrated beyond all question to be the
sting of a certain variety of mosquito
known as anopheleS, the common mos
quito. which while more abundant is
innocent az a carriers of disease, being
known as ouleX. The latter species will
breed in still water of any kind, no mat
ter how pure, but the former, our II e
my, will only breed in Stagnant pools
in which there is a certain amount of
vegetable matter. especially if there are
no fish, such as top minnowS or sur
perch, which feed upon the larvae or
wiggletails. This explains the fact that
malaria Is much more after
freshets, in the course of which the
stream, getting out of it's banks, wash
eS holes in the ground, and speedily
falling leaves there ~stagnant pools with
few or no fish in them. Mosquitoes are
very much more abundant this excep-
tional year of reShets than usual. 1t
also explains the danger of brick holes.
The larvae, or wiggletails, as we gen.
orally call them, are the young mosqui-
toes. Although they live in the water
from the time they are Matched from
n eggs which were laid on the surface
until they reach maturity they cannot
live without air-they must breathe.
Contrary to the general rule, they
breathe wrong end foremost"-through
a long breathing tube which springs
from the body near the tail and which
they stick out of the top of the water
when they want air. The bearing of
this arrangement on their rue
Will appear later.
There iS a nonI,Iar mica nnrohanc;on i,
regard to the movement of mosquitoes.
The general impression is that they are
carried by the wind, and people at the
seaside say that a land breeze brings
mosquitoes. 1t is a fac that they are
more when the breeze is
from the land or in a calm, but accord
ing to those who know best the fact
probably Is not that they are blown
from the SwampS to landward, but that
they simply come out again from the
trees and ~shrubbery and the lea side OF
ouseS where they had taken refuge
from the strong sea breeze which was
too rough for their fragile bodies. With
rare exceptions they travel, it is said,
seldom more than a mile, and general
lily not SO far. When one is troubled
with mosquitoes a careful search will
almost always reveal stagnant water in
the near vicinity.
The destruction of mosquitoes and
lin NV AANAO vi *
is accomplished III two ways: First n
best, by the thorough drainage of ali
stagnant pools of water, and second.
by keeping the surface of such pools
covered with petroleum, what is known
as light fuel oil, or eve the crude pc
troleum being better and cheaper than
ordinary kerosene. The film of oil pre-
vents the larvae from breathing and
smothers them. The quantity neces-
sary is one ounce or two tableSpoonfulS
to every fifteen qua feet of surface,
REPEATED every two weeks. This oil
method was employed with great sue
cess last year by the city Of Winche
ter, Va, and our own town of Tarboro
has recently shown a most
dable spirit of enterprise in adopting
it. Some care and a little expense in
securing protection against mosquitoes
and in providing a supply of pure
drinking water will practically insure
against malaria
To those interested in this subject l
corially commend a very interesting
and valuable o on mosquitoes writ
ten in popular and entertaining style
by DIR. L. o. Howard, the chief entom-
ologist Of the United States and pub
lished by Mcclure, Phillips & Co., New
York, at a cost of s1.64, postpaid.
RICHARD II. LEWIS. NJ. D.,
Secretary State Board of Health.