The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-05-31

II you have that tired 1eetlnS ana
strenuously object to work, beware.
Bent take Smiths sarsapartlla, but call
in the family physician. You may be
suffering from an attack of "hookworm
disease which has lately become a dis
agreeable but popular fad
This malady has been raging in New
York, Pennsylvania, Maryland. the Dis
trict of Columbia, and nearly all the
Southern States. The persons upon
whom il fastens may come unpleasantly
hear death, II, indeed, he is fortunate
enough to escape,
DR.. c. Wardell Stiles, chief of the
division of zoology in the Public Health
and Marine Hospital Service, has pub
lished an exhaustive treatise on the dis
ease. of which he has made a thorough
study. He declares. in his pamphlet,
that the symptoms are unmistakable.
The skin has a waxy white color; cuts
and bruises heal slowly; the face as
srmes an anxious, stupid expression;
the pulse is somewhat sluggish, and the
appetite is ravenous. The feeling of
WEAKNESS after the least exertion is one
OF the most pronounced signs of the
presence of ''hookworms'' in the sys-
TEN.
Dr. Stiles has called this disease
-'uncinariasis." describing the term
''anchylostoma'', assigned TO it by Eu
ropean physicians. The change is war
ranted, since the American form seems
distinct from the Old World variety.
How the Hookworm Looks.
If you trace on paper with a fine pen
q wavy line half an inch long it will
resemble somewhat the appearance of
the ''hookworm.' These worms may be
swallowed in impure food or contami-
rated drinking water. Persons handling
dirt are liable to get the disease, since
1t is often easy then to transfer the
worms to the mouth Once in the sys-
TEN, they live in small intestines, where
they suck blood. produce minute hemor
rhages. and, in all probability. emit q
substance which acts as a poison.
There was distinct disease caused
by this parasite, which, though some
what prevalent in the District and sur
rounding country. escaped the attention
of medical men until this year. DR..
Stiles pamphlet is the result of an ex-
tensive series of experiments and close
observation OF hundreds OF cases 1t Is
now established that '-uncinariasis" is
wide spread and very disastrous to the
human race.
In his pamphlet DR.. Stiles speaks par
ticularly of the case OF a young Vir-
ginian living in Washington. Since his
sixteenth year his physical and menta
development was tardy MS expression
was detected; his skin pale, his body
well nourished but the muscles were
extremely 1abby. The boy died of cere-
bral hemorrhage before reaching his
twentieth year Soldiers stationed II
washington who have lately returned
from Cuba. Porto Rico and the Philip
pines have been found by DR.. Stiles t
be infected with these worms.
Some Preventives
The boiling Of all drinking water vii
effectually kill any hooliworrns present
Another important means OF. preventing
the ingestion Of the parasite IS to keel
the hands ana fngernails clean Til
provision OF properly constructed an
clean latrines in the country districts
in Dr. stiles" opinion, outweighs all sucl
consideration as boiling and hlterini
water. or keeping the hands free from
dirt The two drugs most commonl!
used in cases of uneinariasis are thy
mo- and male fern. The directions usual
u given for thymol treatment are these
Two grams 81 grainsl of thymol at
a. NJ, , grams t31 grains), at 10 a. N.
castor oil o. maGnssia at u noon.
diet of milk and soup is recommended
Twcnty -four hours OF freezing temper
ature kills the worms in any insecte'
area, as does any unusually dry wealth
or Spraying With burning Gil VIII ef
fectively disinfect any place where tn
worms are found. II oil is not to b
had, the ground around the house ma
be strewn with straw or brush, and thi
set ahre, thus Thoroughly disinfectin
the premises.
It's Economic Importance.
DR.. Stiles makes some noteworthy OF
seryations en- the economic importanc
OF the hookworm disease.
Malaria, says the doctor. lis admit
teddy one OF the most important disease
when viewed from an economic stand
point Ia general. uncinariasis is, !
and about The District Of Columbia. full
as important as malaria, and IN som
respects il is of even greater imporI
anee.
Take a given farming area in IL
sand district with an infection Of unc
nariasIs, and assume that 100 farm hanC
are employed. 1t is not an eXaggeratio
to say that these 100 people are not de
ing the work of eighty OF ninety averag
hands. Thus there is a distinct loss
10 to 20 per cent in the wages. and
corresponding loss in the crop return
In some places / should estimate u
loss at even higher percentage, say q