The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-12-09

suffering from the non-experiments
form of this disease.
.. The period of incubation in thir
Teen cases of experimental yellow feye
mas varied from forty-one hours to fiv
days and seventeen hours.
.. Yellow fever is not convened h
fomltes, and hence disinfection of ar
tlcies of clothing, bedding or mercban
disc, supposedly Contaminated bv con
! tact with those sick with the diseas
Is unnecessary.
.. "A house may be said to be infected
] with yellow fever only, when there ar,
present within its walls contaminate,
mosquitoes capable of conveying tn,
parasites of the disease.
TO- The spread of yellow fever car
/ De most effectually controlled by meas
ures directed against the destruction OF
mosquitoes, and the protection of tbs
SICK against the bites of these insects
II. While the mode of propagation
Oh yellow fever has been definitely de-
termlned the specific cause of this dis
ease remains to be discovered.
Inc city of Havana was divided into
twenty-five inspection districts to each
Oh winch was assigned an inspector as
precaution to insure good work.
ihese inspectors are changed FREQUENT
~ from district to district. Besides these
district inspectors, there were ten SAM
tary inspectors also; in addition what
is known as the mosquito division of
inspectors was formed, the object of
which division was to prevent the
propagation of infectious diseases
through the medium of the mosouito
lst by directing the destruction of the
insect; End by destroying it's breeding
places IN still water by petroleum, and
by draining low lands by ditching.
rms department embraced two sub-
divisions, namely: the oiling and ditch
ing. One branch. the oiling. inspects
around premises N the city to see that
there was no still water left where
difcnes all the low land around the
bay.
The most important work of this divi-
sion was done in and about private
houses. Here there were forms OF
circulars, notices issued in pro-
fusion II still water was found around
premises, the owner was called upon
to comply with the orders issued by
the department.
If the order was not complied with
he was fined ten dollars American
money.
This order was quite explicit in ex-
planning to owners and tenants that
the yellow fever mosquitoes prefer clear
still water in which to breed and di-
rected that all wells, cisterns, tanks
and ETC.. containing standing water
shall be tightly covered.
The oiling brigade follow up the in
spectors of these houses to remove all
water found in uncovered receptacles
and to apply petroleum wherever need
ed.
1t has been learned from experience
that the yellow fever mosquito, contrary
to former suppositions, habituaily
ebreeds in clear water, whereas the
malarial mosquito prefers shallow wa
ter underlying grass. Another discov-
cry is that the malaria mosquito is par
tial to hill tops where the soil is cay
covered by shallow water shaded by
vegetation.
This division claims to have destroy
ed ninety per cent of the breeding
places of mosquitoes.
The disinfection service disinfects oil
fumigates all places in which contagi'
Gus and infectious diseases Rave oc
CURED.
In cases of yellow fever infection al
mosquitoes in the house and in tn
houses of the adjacent block are de
stroyed.
The best idea of the results of tn
American system obtainable can be de
rived from the report of Major Gorgas
Chief Sanitary officer, for 1901, from
which I quote as follows:
If we are right in our belief tina
by measures taken for the killing o
infected mosquitoes, We have rid Ha
vana of yellow fever in few months
where it has been epidemic in the cit
for the past 200 years, it is of vas
Importance that these facts should b
made known to the world as extensive
" and rapidly as possible and this
particularly true with regard to tn
United States.
DR.. L. o. Howard of the Departmer
.. of Agriculture. in Washington, D. {
in his admirable book on mosquitoe
SAYS, after number of years expel
fence in fighting mosquitoes the preseI
> writer has come to the conclusion thS
there is no reason why any communlt
should submit to the mosquito plague
At first he only went SO far as
state that there are many places whel
the source of the mosquito supply
circumscribed and limited, and east
{ handled, and that in such places with
comparatively slight effort and sma
: expense mosquitoes could be controlle
AS the work went on and as exper
: ments were tried on a gradually II
= creasing, scale it became more and mo
:. obvious that any neighborhood if
cares to take the trouble and expens
= may place its mosquito denizens mo
: du combat
;, But with mosquito work, just as wi
so many other public measures what
y everybody's business is nobody's bus
= ness. and the result is, that in mai
: locations every. one submits to the me
s quito evil.
Further on he says: There is
: more reason why people should sun
: from, mosquitoes than they should sufi
It from smallpox"
l. Again Dr. Howard says: