The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1905-08-25
THE YELLOW FEVER
AND ITS PROPAGATION
KNOWN HISTORY OF PLAGUE
COMMENCED IN THE SEVEN
TEENTH CENTURY.


seon United States navy, and one OF
the foremost yellow fever experts
sf the country, talked Interestingly
yesterday IN relation to the history
cause and mode of transmission OF
yellow fever.
-rhe known history of yellow fe-
YER said DR.. Carroll. dates back
10 the middle of the seventeenth CEN
turs, when 1t is said to have occurred
1t Barbados in the form of an cpl.
semic in i6f7. In 1913 there was
terrible pest at Havana, which, from
It's description was doubtless yellow
lever. a large portion of the garri-
son and larger part of the crews
and passengers in the vessels died
on that occasion The fever prevail.
ed IN the following year, and again
in 1868. 1864 and 1866, with a high
rate Of mortality After that there
IS no record Of recurrence of the
pest in Havana for over 100 years.
There are records OF yellow fever
IN Jamaica, Santo Domingo and Mar.
Unique in the last half OF the seven
teenth century. In 1906 the epidem
ic nervaded throughout the West In
dies
About this time there are records
Of fevers IN Europe that might have
been yellow fever, but the lack of
more specific descriptions Of them
makes IL impossible for physicians
q this day to definitely determine
their nature. Indeed. throughout the
history Of yellow fever, that disease
has been badly confused with bilious
levers.
we Know as matter of fact"
lIsaid Dr. Carroll that here in the
limited States yellow fever has been
time and again called bilious remit.
tent fever, until the occurrence of
number OF fatal cases with black
Fnmit proclaimed the true nature of
The disease. There is good reason to
believe that with the approaching
complete control OF yellow fever the
old-time bilious remittent fever will
become much less frequent in the
United States, at least.
Result Of Recent Experiments.
Recent experiments have shown
that genuine yellow fever may be SO
mild in character that no man. no
matter how extensive his experience
may have been. would dare diagnose
Il as such unless he knew the disease
to be prevailing at the time. Such
cases presenting at the beginning of
an outbreak would render it extreme.
ly difficult or impossible to trace the
gzigin OF the severer cases occurring
iatsr- So far as know stegomyia
fasciatx has not been noted as &C.
curing in Great Britain or Central
Europe, but that only goes to show
that yellow fever cannot propagate
8 in those ATTITUDES unless the insect
Itself DO Introduced at the proper
season and along with the infection:
the latter In the bodies of individu.
ais suffering with the. disease, or in
mosquitoes Of this genus that have
fed upon patients during the febrile
stages of their attack.
There lis no record as vet of the
presence Of this insect in Philadel.
Qhiaa, New' York and Boston and nu.
merous other places north of Virginia
and Kentucky in the United States
where severe epidemics have been
reported The explanation appears
10 be that the insect in question does
not survive the winter of northern
Iatitudess but II II be introduced dur.
ing, warm season it may propagate
rapidly and become very numerous.
We know that the eggs. II dried after
they are Matched, retain their vital
ity for over three months, and it is
possible that they might survive
shrough a long winter.
Belated information.
1T seems strange at this day that
the real cause of the spread of yell
low fever was not sooner surmised.
Il was we'll known that the disease
prevailed in an epidemic form in
warm. moist climates. Looking back
aver the description of the disease
and conditions under which 1t has
long been recognized 1t is clearly
shown that these conditions were
hose under which the contagion
sotild be spread by mosquitoes. But
theory after. theory was entertained
during long period of years. but no