Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-09-22
A CHECK ON MALARIA.
Mosquitoes Fed on Fruit Juices Are
Immune.

From the New York Tribune.
A discovery which. R@fully confirmed,
VIII have bearing on the danger Of in
lection with malaria is. reported from In
Ola. Mature in a recent issue, briefly
alluded to certain researches by Dr. Schoo
that had been moro fully described in 1.-THE
Indian Medical Gazette. by Lieut. Col
Giles. Though the latter publication Is not
accessible, and details Of DR.. Schools work
are not at hand. the main point Is ade-
quately set forth by the London periodical
above referred to- - a7i,a., = ~5-ca
Since 1t has been known that the mosquito
is largely instrumental in a disseminating
malaria puZzling situation has occasional
ally been noticed Localities exist in which
the offending genus of insect abounds but
which are practically immune. There is no
reason to suppose that the ratio Of mos
quito bites to population is different there
than in other places Hence students of the
modem views of malaria have been mysti-
fed. Now DR.. Schoo asserts that when
mosquitoes are fed on the Juice of acid fruits
they cannot be easily infected with ma
larial germs, and consequently are almost
harmless. Obviously they cannot transmit
to human beings what they do not carry
and nourish in their own little bodies.
AS soon as the observations made in India
acquire proper publicity a number of COM
petent persons in other countries will begin
to look for evidence corroborating or an
tagOnlZlnS Or. Schools conviction. Italy
has already supplied a little. Possibly be-
fore laboratory experiments under test
conditions were made in India, Prof Cell
had not only recognized the existence Of
immune areas. but had also announced that
in some of them the cultivation Of the to-
mato had attained a high development In
asmuch as mosquitoes live largely on the
juices of fruit and vegetables, and not ex-
clusively on human blood the Italians test
imony IS significant. Still, the matter needs
to be followed up further. America offers
exceptional opportunities for obtaining
light. Until a number of students acting
independently, reach the same conclusion
1t will not be safe to regard the new sug-
ges1on as more than provisional.
Whether or not any practical use can be
made of the revelation IN question remains
to be seen. Doctors will hardly send con-
table gardens or fruit orchards for the COM
pletion Of their recovery. It is not likely
that crops will be raised anywhere simply
because Of their sanitary value. It is
doubtful whether the price of real estate
would be materially affected in a region
where there were many mosquitoes by the
circumstance that they were fnsusceptible
to malaria. Perhaps freer indulgence in
vegetable acids by human subjects may
render them, like the mosquitoes, immune
but time Is needed to establish even that
possibility. Still. If nothing should be gain
ed In the avoidance or treatment Of ma
laria itself in consequence Of the discov-
cries OF DR.. Schoo, Prof. Cell and their
disciples, beneficial result of different
nature may be expected. It may be laid
down as a general principle that whenever
an exception is adequately explained a rule
is confirmed.