The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1905-08-11

would not check the disease, but that
its transmission was partly due to an
insect
1.-THE fact that malarial fever, caused
by an animal parasite in the blood, is
transmitted from man to man through
the agency Of certain mosquitoes had
been recently accepted by the scientific
world: also, several years before, DR..
Carlos Finlay of Havana had ad-
vanced the theory that a mosquito con-
veyed the unknown cause of yellow
fever, but did not succeed in demon
strating the truth of his theory.
"Dr. H. r. Carter of the Marine
Hospital Service had written paper
showing that although the period of
incubation was only FIVE days, yet a
house to which a patient was carried
did not pecome infected for from fifteen
to twenty days.
"To Reeds mind this indicated that
the unknown infective agent has to I'M
dergo a period of incubation of from
ten to fifteen days and probably in the
body of the biting insect.
SANARELLI THEORY DISPROVED.
up to this time the most generally
accepted theory as to the causatiOn of
yellow fever was that of SanarelIi,
who claimed that the bacillus icete-
roids discovered by him was the spe-
citic agent of the disease. Major Reed,
in association with DR.. Carroll, had,
however, already. demonstrated that
this bacillus was one widely dissent
mated in the United States, and bore
no such relation to yellow fever.
"In June, July and August, 1900, the
commission gave their entire attention
to the archaeological study of the
blood of yellow fever patients and the
poStmOrtem examination of the organs
of those dying of the disease. In
twenty-four cases where the blood was
repeatedly examined, as we'll as in
eleven carefully studied autopsies,
bacillus iceteroids were not discov-
cred, nor was there any indication of
the presence in the blood of specific
cause of the disease.
Application was made to General
Leonard Wood, the military governor
of Cuba, for permission to conduct ex-
periments on non-immune persons, and
a liberal sum of money requested for
the purpose of rewarding volunteers
who would submit themselves to ex-
pertinent.
cit was indeed fortunate that the
military governor of Cuba was man
who, by his breadth of mind and spe-
cial scientific training, could readily
appreciate the arguments of Major
Reed as to the value of the proposed
work.
"Money and full authority to pro-
coed were promptly granted, and to the
everlasting glory of the American SOL
der, volunteers from the army offered
themselves for experiment in plenty,
and with the utmost fearlessness.
DIR. LAzIER DIES A HERO.
" Before the arrangements were en-
tirely completed DR.. Carroll, member
of the commission, allowed himself to
be bitten by a mosquito that twelve
days previously had filled itself with
the blood of yellow fever patient.
He suffered from a very severe attack,
and his was the first experimental
case. DR.. LaZear also experimental
on himself at the same time, but was
not infected. Some days later, while
in the yellow fever ward, he was bitten
by mosquito and noted the fact care
fully. He acquired the disease in it's
most terrible form and died martyr
to science and a true hero.
"No other fatality occurred among
the brave men who in the course of the
willingly exposed them
selves to the Infection of the dreaded
disease.
" A camp was especially constructed
for the experiments, about four miles
from Havana. christened Camp Lazear
in honor of the dead comrade. The
inmates of the camp were put into most
rigid quarantine and ample time was
to eliminate any possibility of
the disease being brought in from Ha-
vana.