The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-08-06
MAI. REEDS GREAT
WORK IN HAVANA
Heroes of United States Army
Fought Yellow Fever
MOSQUITO Theory PROVED
Subjects Exposed to Disease In Every
Imaginable Manner, But Re-
malned immune While Insects
Were Kept Away.
MOSQUITO Theory PROVED

The appearance of yellow fever In New
ORLEANS and the determination of DR..
White, head of the federal forces sent
here, of the state and city boards OF
health and of practically the whole OF
the medical fraternity to appeal to the
whole community for cooperation in
the effort to apply successfully the dog
ma that yellow fever Is transmitted only
by a certain species of mosquito has
aroused intense interest In the subject of
the causatlon of yellow fever epldemics.
Some details are given here of the Won
derful results of the experiments of the
commission headed by Major Walter
Reed of the United States army in Cuba,
results which, 1t Is claimed, have en-
abled the authorities to make Havana,
the home of yellow fever, practically inn
mune after 100 years of constant fever.
The whole credit of the development of
the theory into a scientific fact is due to
Major Reed who. with other officers
and privates of the United States army,
risked their lives In the demonstration.
Assistant Surgeon Lazear lost his life in
the attempt Major Reed succumbed
three years ago 10 al dltuth VI opfSSN7
dicitis In the city of Washington.
1t Is not expected that the application
of the mosquito dogma here will be an
absolute success, for several reasons,
two principally The first Is that the
great bulk of the public here has, in
the absence of the fever. refused to dis
play any interest whatever In the patient
efforts of DR.. Kohnke, other health Of
f1cials and the medical fraternity to edu-
cate the community to take the most
primitive precautions to rid the city of
the stegomyia, the species of mosquito
which alone can transmit the disease.
The result is that the authorities have
now TO begin a primer class and there
Will doubtless be bred here thousands of
these insects which would never have
come into existnece If the people of New
ORLEANS had been willing to take their
lessons before. The other reason is that
the unsanitary condition of the city, the
absence of a sewerage system. the failure
to put into operation a modern wnter-
works system furnishing filtered water,
necessitating the retaining of the obso-
1ete cisterns, and the presence every
where OF stagnant water, of filthy streets,
cutters and yards make 1t practically
impossible to destroy the stegomyia COM
pletely before frost comes. Nevertheless,
1t is deemed absolutely certain that If
tors, SO convincing will be the demon
stration of that fact that Major Reed es-
tablished that not only New ORLEANS but
the whole south will be aroused to the
possibilities of making themselves I'M
mune to the attacks of the yellow
scourge even If all the present quarantine
bars are eliminated. If that shall be the
result the present visitation of the fever
will prove itself a blessing in disguise.
Major Reed Brilliant vlrginan.
Major Walter Reed was born in Glou-
cester county Virginia in 1851. He was
the son of the Rev. Lemuel Sutton Reed
He received a fair private education and
then went to the University of Virginia
to study medicine, graduating In 1865
second degree at Bellevue Medical col
lege in New York and then served in the
Brooklyn and Blackwells Island hospital
Before he was q he was a district ply
sician in New York, and at % he was one
of the five inspectors of the board Of
health of Brooklyn. He went into the
United States army as assistant surgeon
with the rank of first lieutenant In 1875,
and during the next eighteen years served
in Arizona, Nebraska, Dakota and in the
southern and eastern states. He was al
ways an interchangeable student and a
pioneer. In 1890 he went to Baltimore,
working in the laboratories of Johns Hop
kins university. In 1893 he was made
surgeon with the rank of major and was
detailed in Washington as curator of the