The sun., 1905-09-01
YELLOW FEVER INFECTION.
An Important Statement Made by High
Authority,

To THE EDITOR OF THE sUN-Sir: Your
paper Of Aug. 20 contained two articles on
yellow fever which, being both well written
and plausible In stat atement, may not be with
out influence.
This 10 TO be regretted. as being muddy
Ing of the waters. at time when the effort
to handle the dihicult sanitary problem In
tho South In q sane. sound and scientific
manner should have the support Of correctly
informed public opinion.
The fact that yellow fever was transmitted
by q certain variety Of mosquito and only
In that way was demonstrated fully. conclu-
sively and absolutely by the now famous
and classical experiments of Major Walter
Reed. Surgeon. United States Army. and his
coadjutors In Cuba In 1900. His work has
been thoroughly revised and tested since by
competent scientists. notably the yellow
fever expedition OF the Pastear Institute Of
Paris and the yellow fever institute OF the
Public Health and Marine Hospital Service
of this country. with the result that all his
conclusions have been confirmed: nor has
there been any substantial addition made to
them by subsequent investigators.
In the first article by DR.. Thomas J. Mays
OF Philadelphia the familiar not the only
way" doctrine 10 supported by two instances,
both Of which are perfectly explainable by
the mosquito theory. but which can with
difficulty be made to square with the theory
OF conveyance OF the disease by clothing.
which they were intended to support. II
Mr.. B. took yellow fever on Sept. Is the
mosquitoes which bit him In the three days
thereafter would have been ripe" and cap
able of conveying the infection by Oct. I.
and adding five days for the usual period
of incubation, We should expect secondary
cases to begin to occur after Oct. Q. In fact.
three members Of the family came down on
the 7th. sth and i2th thereafter, But the
writer Of the article prefers to trace this
secondary infection to . certain cashmere
shawl which had escaped burning after the
death Of Mr. B. and was discovered and
destroyed on Oct. 5. And to the mere touch
ing Of this shawl (which there Is no state
ment that Mr.. B. had worn) by Mrs. h. Is
sscribed the transmission Of the disease after
the most unusually short incubation period
of two days. Compare with this the utter
failure In the Reed experiments to convey the
fever by bedding In any case. though non
immune Americans slept night after night
In bedding upon which yellow fever patients
had died and which was even soiled with the
black vomt and other discharges. 1T is
constantly observed" Reed used TO say.
that In infected cities yellow fever stops
Immediately on the occurrence Of frost. ls
It conceivable that the occurrence OF tenn
perature Of 81 degrees Fahrenheit out OF doors
will instantly dlslnfect all the houses Of q cityl
with regard to the other article which
advances the theory that the daughters Of
infected mosquitoes convey a mild infection.
It need only be said that while there Ia no
evidence In favor Of this theory II Is per-
sopally known to the writer that the expert
ment was tried by Reed without the produc-
ton of any fever whatever.
1t 10 suggested that instead Of manufac-
turing new theories or resurrectlng buried
ones We take to heart the words OF Sir Patrick
Manson. medical adviser Of the British Colo
NAL once, and the greatest living authority
on tropical diseases. spoken shortly after
the death Of Walter Reed in the fall OF 1902:
-Dr. Walter Reed did great and benehcent
work. We In England thoroughly appre-
oiate this and heartily sympathize with
America In the loss she and the world has
sustained by his premature death. The best
tribute we can pay to his memory Ia at once
10 apply his discovery. Let us hope that
the good he has done will not be Inferred
with his bones, and that his countrymen and
the rest Of us will take care to push forward
the great and bSnehcent measures hls bril-
liant labors 20 Aeorly Indicate s.R.K.
WAsHINorqk, Aug. %.