The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1905-08-05
THE MOSQUITO FEVER
THEORY DISCUSSED.

Jonn II. Taylor. cnle1 OF laDora1ory VI
Las Anlmas Hospital, Havana, Cuba
''Dr. Charles P. Finlay, at the session
of the Royal Academy of Science, in
Havana, Cuba. Aug. II, 1881, first gave
to the world his erentful theory of the
transmission of yellow fever by the me-
dium of the mosquito, reporting, at thai
time, a series of experiments that he
had made on human beings, by which
he claimed to have proved his theory
He was the pioneer in mosquito inocu-
lations. From 1881 to 1900, DR.. Finlay,
assisted by DR.. Claudio Delgado, per-
formed over one hundred inoculations
with supposed infected yellow fever
mosquitoes. Time will not permit me
to dwell on these experiments. l will
simply read an extract of DIR. Finlay'
original theory given out in August,
1881:
"Three conditions will, therefore, be
necessary, in order that yellow fever
may be propagated: 1. The existence
Of yellow fever patient into whose
capillaries the mosquito is able to dr1ye
its sting and to impregnate it with viru-
lent particles, at an appropriate stage
OF the disease. 2. That the life of the
mosquito be spared after its bite on the
patient until it has a chance of biting
the person in whom the disease is to be
reproduced. 8. The coincidence that
some OF the persons whom the same
mosquito happens to bite thereafter
shall be susceptible of contracting the
disease"
"The following facts. in connection
with yellow fever. are now very gener-
ally admitted:
81. The only natural method that is
known by which yellow fever is trans-
mitted from sick to healthy persons is
by the bite of mosquitoes previously in
fected by biting a sick person in the
first three days of an attack of yellow
fever. =.
"2. On the fourth day OF the disease
the blood no longer contains the virus
of yellow fever, even when the fever is
high.
SO. Up to the present time it has not
been proven that yellow fever is trans
mitted by any other species Of mosquito
except the one known as Stegomyia IA
ciata.
1. "The infected mosquito is only dan
gerous after an interval of twelve DAYS
from the time that it has ingested viru-
lent blood.
rs. Contact with patient, personal
effects, clothing. excretions, fomites,
ETC., are incapable of producing yellow
fever.
"7. The virus of yellow fever rubbed
on the denuded skin does not give the
disease.
"1i. Apart from the natural trans
mission by means of the bites of infected
stegomyia fasciata mosquitoes, the only
other proved method by which it has
been possible to transmit yellow fever
artificially consists in injecting non
immunes simultaneously with yellow
fever blood.
"f6. Yellow fever can only spread in
regions where the stegomyia fasciata
prevail.
sit is possible to eliminate yellow fe-
YER from the world by three methods:
l. Mosquito proof isolation of all cases,
including those suspicious. 2. Thor
ough fumigation of patients quarters
and those adjoining. 8. Attempt to
destroy all mosquitoes in all their stages.
"Ihese conclusions are based on the
experiments and Investigations of the
following workers: Drs. Charles F.
Finlay and Claudio Delago, in Havana,
in 1881 to 1900; DR.. A. Aframonte, in
Havana, 1899; American military COM
mission composed of Major w. Reed,
M. D.; and Drs. J. Carroll, A. Agra
monte and J. w. Lazear, in Havana,
1900 and 1901; DR.. ]. Guiteras, in Ha-
vana, 1901; commission working party
No. of the Yellow Fever Institute,
public health and marine hospital serv-
ice, composed of Drs. H. B. Parker, G.
E. Boyer and o. L. Pothier, in Vera
Cruz, 1902; DR.. A. Agramonte, in Vera
Cruz and Mexico City, 1902; French
commission, composed of Drs. Mar
choux, Salimbeni and Simond, in Rio
Janeiro, 1902 and 1903; Brazilian COM
mission, appointed by DR.. Emilio Ribas,
composed of Drs. L. P. Bareto, A. Co
mez de Silva and Julio de Barras, in
San Paulo, 1903"
DIFFERENTIATION OF YELLOW FEVER,
"From the positive results obtained
in Cuba in 1901, under the direction of
Col. w. C.. Gorgas of the American
government of Intervention, and still
maintained by the Cuban sanitary au-
thorities, we have reason to state posi-
tively that yellow fever could be elimi-
mated from the world by the use of
measures similar to those used in Cuba,
as follows:
"Destroy as many mosquitoes as pos
sible, SO as to limit the number of in
sects capable of transmitting the dis
ease. We know that if there were no
mosquitoes, there would be no yellow
fever.
n2. Prevent mosquitoes from biting