The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1905-08-11
MAJOR REEDS WORK IN HAVANA.
[Continued from Page One. ]

Grated in the room containing lne nu-
man subjects of the experiment.
Yellow fever promptly followed the
introduction of mosquitoes into the
room.
The Reed memoir continues:
WHAT EXPERIMENTS PROVED.
"Besides the experimental cases
caused by mosquito bites, four non
immunes were infected by injecting
blood drawn directly from the veins
of yellow fever patients in the first
two days of the disease, thus demon
strating the presence Of an infectious
agent in the blood at this early period
of the attack.
"Even the blood serum of patient,
passed through bacteria-proof filter,
was found to be capable of causing
yellow fever in another person.
"The details of the experiments are
most interesting, but it must here suf-
fee to briefly sum up the principal
conclusions of this admirable board
of investigators of which Reed was
| the master mind:
81. The specific agent in the causa-
ton of yellow fever exists in the blood
of patient for the first three days of
his attack, after which time he ceases
to be menace to the health of others.
"2. A mosquito of single species,
stegomyia faciata, ingesting the blood
of the patient during this infective
period is powerless to convey the dis
ease to another person by its bite
until about twelve days have elapsed,
but can do so thereafter for an indef-
mite period, probably during the re-
mainder of it's life.
SO, The disease cannot be spread in
any other way than by the bite of the
previously infected stegomyia. Arti-
Giles used or soiled by patients do not
carry infection.
"These conclusions pointed so clear
ly to the practical method of extermi
mating the disease that they were a
once accepted by the sanitary autbori
ties in Cuba and put to the test in Ha
vana, where for nearly century ant
a half, by actual record, the disease
had never failed to appear annually
FEVER LEAVES HAVANA AFTER 15t
, YEARS.
''In February, 1901, the chief SAM
,, tary officer in Havana, Major W. c.
: Gorgas, Medical Department of TIT
, United States army, instituted meas
ures to eradicate the disease, based en-
tirely on the conclusions of the com
nilsson. Cases of yellow fever Were
2 required to be reported as promptly az
possible, the patient was at first rigid
ly isolated, and Immediately upon tn,
: report force of men from the Sanitar,
. department. visited the house. All tn,
! rooms of the building and of thu
. neighboring houses were sealed ant
fumigated to destroy the mosquitoe
r present. Window and door screens
were put up and after the death or re
, covery Of the patient his room wa
S fumigated and every mosquito de
, strOyed. A war OF determination wa
!, also waged against mosquitoes in gen
eral, and an energetic effort made tt
/ diminish the number bred by drainin,
-, standing water, screening tanks ant
u vessels, using petroleum on water tina
= could not be drained, and in the mos
d systematic manner destroying tn
+, breeding places of the insect.
!" "When the warm season returned
few cases occurred but by September
1901, the last case of yellow fever orig
+. mated in Havana, since which tim
the city has been entirely exempt fror
the terrible disease that had Their
!, kept strong hold for hundred an
a fifty years. Cases are now admitte
d into Havana from Mexican ports, br
S are treated under screens with perfet
ii immunity in the ordinary city hosp
tails. The crusade against the insect
y also caused very large decrease i
malarial fevers.
more recent Investigations into til
"a cause and spread of yellow fever hay
"a only succeeded in verifying the wor
ot of Reed and his commission in ever
ii particular and adding very little to OF
o1 knowledge of the disease.
Re Later researches by Guiteras j
y Havana, by the Public Health an
1e Marine Hospital Service in Vera Cru
&c and lastly by the delegation from tt
10 Pasteur Institute of Paris in Rio