The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-08-29
INSECTS AS
DISEASE BREEDERS
The Marine Hospital Service
Receives an Important
Circular.
INSECTS AS FACTORS IN THE CON
VEYANCE5 OF DISEASE.

INSECTS AS FACTORS IN THE CON-
VEYANCE OF DISEASE.
Treasury Department. Office Supervise
ing Surgeon General NJ. H. S
Washington, D. c., July 20, 1901
To the Medical Officers of the Marine
Hospital Service:
Your attention is directed to the inn
portance of insects as factors in the
conveyance of disease. There is no
longer doubt as to the relataon of the
mosquito to the malarial diseases and
to filariasis. According to Simond,
plague is transmitted from the rat TO
man by the flea. The infection of ty-
phoid fever and to certain extent
cholera, may be conveyed from the
texereta by flies. According to the re-
cent work of the army commission, the
mosquito plays an important role in the
transmission of yellow fever. You are,
| there fore, directed 10 give particular
attention to this subject, SO far as it
| relates to the work of the service in
quarantine and the prevention of the
spread of communicable diseases. You
are advised to carefully guard patients
suffering with said diseases from the
bites or sannoyanees of the insects
above, mentioned. and to this end to
place mosquito netting over the sick
bed. Excreta must be treated in
manner to prevent their becoming food
or breeding places for insects. Hospi-
| tails where communicable diseases are
| treated should be thoroughly protected
| with fly screens at all windows, doors
and other openings, particular atten-
| ton being paid to the kitchen. dining
room and protection of the food.
Should mosquitoes, flies, or other in
sects gain entrance to the wards they
should be at once destroyed.
The best method of killing insects in
a large room is by sulphur fumiga ton.
Formaldehyd can not be depended
upon, for it frequently fails to kill in
seets. Pyrethrum powder when burn
ed in an Enclosure only stupefies mos
Iquitoes and flies, and when used these
insects must be subsequently, collected
and destroyed.
You are also directed to guard
against the breeding of mosquitoes
about marine hospital reservations,
quarantine stations. and camps by the
methods now in vogue. Collections of
water in buckets, barrels. cisterns, and
the like are favorite places for the
breeding of mosquitoes. Such collec-
lions should be carefully covered, or,
| il cover is not practicable, petroleum.
should be poured on the surface ana
| replenished from time to time. AL col
Elections of stagnant water, pools,
Iditches, and the like about the reserva-
tion should be drained, or, if impracti-
cable petroleum used as above. APP.
proximately one ounce is sufficient III
still water for fifteen square feet of
surface and ordinarily the application
I,need roc be renewed for one month.
/ oncerning the cultivation of certain
[pIants and trees and other means of ex-
terminating mosquitoes, you are refer
red II the works of Giles and Howard
viii n have recently been furnished
Ey,'l' station.
IS far as ships are concerned. partic-
/ ular attention should be paid to the wa
ter tanks casks, buckets, and other
water collections especially in regions
where malaria and yellow fever pre-
vail. In vessels coming from these re-
Egions measures as above indicated
4 should be taken with view to the de-
Istruction of possible mosquitoes or
their larvae. WALTER wYMAN,
Supervising Surgeon General,
u. S. NJ. H. g.
Approved; o. L. Spaulding, Assistant
Secretary