Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1905-07-18
THE HAVANA.

highest development of all that has
proved beneficial in the rational treat
ment of tuberculosis.
"Our present procedure, if thorough
ly carried out, ought TO cure q proper
ton of cases far beyond what are usual
ly accepted as fair results. One person
in four contracts tuberculosis, and one
death in seven is from this cause alone
which would imply only A per cent of
recoveries.
Making due allowance for deficiencies
in statistics, it would seem that only
about one-third Of all who contract tuber-
culosis recover. The great majority of
cases happen under very unfavorable
conditions and have a mortality much
higher than the average. Therefore, to
offset this, we must consider that there
is smaller class comprising slight at
tacks under favorable conditions that has
nearly 100 per cent of recoyeries.
"A summer spent in Omenak ford or
Inglefeld gulf, where we purpose an
choring and biding a while, would serve
to establish a cure, or insure its accom-
plishment afterward in nearly all cases
not hopelessly advanced. Three con-
sumptives to my knowledge have gone to
these places, and in each case the cure
was immediate and effectual. Two of
them were for three months in the Peary
expedition, and the third, well-advanced
case, was for nine months aboard
whaler. Some Eskimos brought to this
country soon contracted virulent tuber-
culosis, four of them quickly succumb-
ing, one being still uncured here, while
the only one who returned to his native
SHOWS recovered. One hundred per cent
of recoveries in four cases is, of course,
not conclusive evidence, still it includes
all known cases. So we are warranted
in drawing the most promising conclu-
sions.
1.-The climatic conditions in Greenland
above the Arctic circle are ideal for this
purpose. Even at our best consumption
resorts in the United States the patients
have good days and bad nights. They
may not venture into the dew-drenched
air, and ordinarily lose at night what is
gained by day. The secret of the open
air treatment for this terrible disease is
abundant sunlight and a dry, cold,
bracing atmosphere. These three ingre
dents abound only in the very far north
during the three months of sunshine. Al
most to the northernmost boundary of
Greenland and some degrees above thu
Arctic circle, the summer temperature
seldom falls below freezing, the mercury
being generally above in July and Au-
gust, when it ranges from 80 to 40 de-
grees. There is no increase of heat dur
ing the day and no cooling off at night,
for nights there are none.
"The natives of northern Greenland
do not have tuberculosis, though there
have been opportunities for infection in
the tribes One reason for this-and il
| is to be pondered-is that catarrhal con-
ditions do not occur, since bacteria are
not native there.
81 have made exhaustive bacteriolog
ical searches in northern Greenland, and
have never found disease germ, for
| they absolutely cannot exist there, much
| less spread.
''The Havana is, so far as possible,
adapted admirably to such an expedition
1t has been entirely renovated, fumi.
gated, and furnished after the sanitary
manner of a hospital ship, with many
| added comforts In other words, the
vessel differs in no wise from a model
sanatorium except that it is movable.
| We will take rowing commission, so to
say, stopping here or there as occasion
may warrant, moving from gulf to gulf,
| from harbor to harbor, so as to have g
| sufficient change of scenery to provide
against monotony. We expect to be back
in Halifax early in October or possibly
by Sept. 30"