Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-09-09
fIGHTINGYELLOWF FEVER
Successful Methods of Military
Government In Cuba.
THE RESULT OF TWO YEARS WORK.


Dec. ~, 1S09-Is Now ms Clean as
Any American CIty-ConditIon In
Havana Excellent - The Mosquito
Experiments.
Full reports of the efforts to stamp
out yellow fever in Cuba and to re-
move the cause of the disease have
been received Mt the insular bureau of
the war department. The fight OF
the military authorities against yellow
fever began in the city of Santiago
almost Immediately after it's occupa-
! ton by the military forces of the United
! States. In prepared statement on the
subject of fever reports the insular
bureau. says:
1.-The yellow fever epidemic at San
tiago in 1899 resulted in n death rate
of 20 per cent of all who had the dis
| ease. The result of nearly two years
OF American rule has been to make
Santiago, to all outward appearances,
as clean as any American city. Every
house where yellow fever occurred in
| 1899 was disinfected three times. Eigh-
| ty-flve miles of streets were swept
daily. $4,000 cubic yards of sweepings
| Were hauled out of the city during the
year. In all $4,000 cubic yards of gar
| bage were removed, in the destruction
of which $4,000 gallons of crude petro-
leum were used. Four thousand gal
Ions of carbollc acid and 1000 pounds
OF chloride of lime perfumed the air in
the same good work. No street eX-
| cavating was permitted.
The result OF this work is that there
has been no yellow fever in Santiago
| since Dec. 81, 1899.
The general sanitary condition of
Havana continues excellent. During
June last there We're 49S deaths from
all causes. This is Lhc smallest num-
Der occurring in any June since 1889.
The greatest number OF deaths for
June occurred in 1898. when there We're
I.203. The average since 1899 is TIS.40.
The rate per thousand for June is
IS The death rate for June COM
pares favorably with that of many
large cities in the civilized world. For
example. the death rate in the City of
Mexico for the week ending June = was
65.62; Vera Cruz, for the week ending
June /, 3T.49; the city of Kingston, ia
maica. during May last, 1922; Rouen,
France, for the month of April last,
2S.43.
The condition of the city of Ha-
vana. so far as yellow fever is con-
cerned. is particularly gratifying. Dur
ing the month of June there was not
single death nor new case in Havana.
The records show that since 1TG1 no
previous June has passed with abso-
lutte freedom from this disease There
L.. hot al n1
the present in its freedom from yellow
fever. the last death having occurred
ON March II.
Commencing about the middle of
February, the sanitary authorities bas-
ed their whole management of yellow
fever upon the position that the mos
quito is the medium of its transmits
sion from person to person, theory
originally brought forward and cele-
brated by DIR. Charles Finlay OF Ha-
vana and finally entirely established
by experiments of the yellow fever
commission. When the results of these
experiments We're made known. the
military government directed that ev-
cry effort be made to carry out disin-
lection on the lines indicated by this
discovery, and the result of four
months work has been TO strengthen
the information of the board.
"In January there were 23 cases ana
4 deaths; February. s cases and
deaths. After this date, the new meth
oil of disinfection being in operation.
there were new cases on Feb. ID, 70
and 81 and on March and 3. There
were no further cases until April 20
and 81. when two occurred. and no
more fever until May and 4, when
there were l. There We're no cases
from May to June 80. the date COW
cred by the reports so far received.
There have been years in which
there was very little yellow fever, but
none in which it. has entirely disap-
peared as Mt present. 1t would there
fore seem to be a fair inference that
the improved method of disintection
killed off the infected mosquitoes; that
by March g the city had been rid OF the
infection and was free of fever until
April 90, when a focus OF Infection
again developed. Distinction again
apparently killed the infected mosqui-
toes. as the city was free from fever
until May @. when another focus de-
veloped. The same method OF disln-
lection was again applied. with the re-
suit that no cases developed after that
date.
1T is believed that by pursuing the
present methods the island can be rid
of yellow fever, and its spread may be
prevented even when introduced from
the outside. If this condition can be
brought about. many of the restric-
tions now imposed upon commerce by
mn Mt N No Il n