The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-12-19
DR. JOHN GUITERAss
Scientific Treatise on the Origin of
 Disease.

New Orleans States.
 During the recent convention of the American Public Health Association edi- torials were printed in the New Orleans papers calling attention to the fact that while the scientists were all in accord on the theory that the mosquito spread yellow fever and malaria fever, none of them had succeeded in ascertainingl the origin of these diseases, and insisted that this line of investigation ought to receive close attention.
 The States asked the worlds most fa- nous yellow fever expert pr. John Gui- teras of Havana, Cuba, who was In at- tendance at the convention. for a written statement of his views on this subject, believing that such, coming from a scien- tist of worldwide reputation, would do much good in educating the laymen to the medical profession.
 Dr. Guiteras at first demurred saying 1t might appear he was seeking publicity, which. above everything else. he did not desire. and summed, as far as possible.
 Surgeon General Walter Wyman, of the United States Public Health and Marine Hospital Service. who was also here, was asked to lend his influence in per- suading Dr. Guiteras to give the desired statement, and did so. "Who else should make such statement but you" General Wyman said to Dr. Guiteras. After con- sidering the matter more fully Dr. Gui- teras agreed to comply with the States request
 The statement of pr. Guiteras prepared ts herewith published. In substance it points out that all diseases now existing come from existing cases. To illustrate, person can only contract yellow fever from some other person who has 1t. Dr. CIliteras is a firm beiievpr that vel- low fever is spread by the mosquito and by the mosquito only. He believes that the way to stamp out yellow fever. and the only way. is to kill off the variety of mosquitoes which carry the yellow fever bacilts.
 pr. Guiteras's statement is here given: ITO The Editor of The States:
 "A very serious error found its way into some of the editorials written for the daily press during the session of the American Public Health Association in New Orleans.
 "We cannot allow such error to pass anchallenged because it significes back ward step of nearly half a century. "The editorial writers thought they | had discovered very serious flaw in | the yellow fever work of the Association | Their criticism is sure to attract public attention. for the said writers appear to | go deeper into the question than the | scientists have done.
 The argument of the editorials amount cd to this: These scientists have, after all. been very superficial; they have not gone into the heart of the problem. They have been talking to us about the mode | of transmission of yellow fever: but they say nothing about it's origin, and this is | really what we want to know. We wish to know the conditions that give origin l to the disease, in order that we may meet them, and stop the thing in it's incipiency | Let us know the ions ct origo. and what care we about your mosquitoes anu your | formites as transmitters of the disease. "Now. all this sounds very plausible and even philosophical: but it is al wrong. It carries HIS back to the abso lute question of the spontaneous origir | of diseases. The diseases existing at the 1 present time do not arise de novo. l case of measles comes from another case | of measles. A case of tuberculosis, case | of typhoid fever. of scarlet fever, etc. each one, can only take its origin. or 1T l other words, can only derive it's infec ton from a previous case of the sam' | disease Sometimes the connection be tween them may be so obscure, so roun(
 about that we may be unable to pom out the case from which the infection l
 lation of cause and effect Is maintained
 from case to case throughout the world
 "'But.' the reader will say. the thini
 must begin somewhere. When did th'
 first case occur? You say that yellow
 fever is transmitted only by the mos ] quito. and that the insect must have blt ten case of yellow fever before 1t car
 become infested; but how did the frs
 mosouito become infected? When am
 how did the chain of events beg!nT
 This we cannot answer. No nor
 than we can tell when the first cotto'
 tree came into existence. At the presen
 time every cotton tree comes from an
 other cotton tree, and every case of vel
 low fever comes from another case O
 yellow fever. Neither of them will aris
 from dirt.
 "At what time. in the course or eVolu
 ton. the parasite of yellow fever oeVel
 oned or degenerated into the netariou
 habit of living upon man and the mos o,,ito we do not know; but there ne IS to
 dav bound to that cycle or mode or M nv
 inc between man and the mosquito. Tn narasite is rooted there. like the paif
 tree in the lands of the tropics
 "Jt cannot quit its place of hirth' If uiu not live on other earth | ~ John Guiteras."