New-York tribune., 1905-11-20

,-,.> vary few exceptions practical sen'tarlans
u,reserved3y accepted the theory that a
,.,- variety Of the mosquito known as the
ae..-o-,v.z'' is the only means by which yellow
- ,s transmitted. Efforts have been made
that there are other ways by which this
.,.ss.e may be propasated, but the evidence
-. bes thus far been presented is not enti-
,,os TO yerio,;s consideration In connection with
,,,,.+ he understood that the 'stegonlyia"
- ordinary circumstances is as harmless as
uh''' - variety OF mosquito and it is only
~, II has bitten a person suher'flg rom
- fev.- that 1t becomes dangerous to the
.o,,-nunity. inasnnuch as IL is lhei' capa'ie -
.-sngrnitting the disease
.,...,1 there is a unanirnity Of opinion
exnerienced health officials as to the
sl"' =, which yellow fever is transmitted,
g s.iu consi, -rable difference in their
.oncernfng certain points in connection
. .L,, subject Probably the most important
,.as 20 the transmission OF yellow fever
.-tec+ad mosquitoes concealed IN vessels,
- in the living apartments. in the ship s
tn baggage It has been suggested that
.t,-eaks Of yellow fever which have re-
- occurred In the South and also in Cuba
-. sre N the presence Of infected mosquitoes
a. she cargoes Of vessels arriving from pors
-,ere yellow fever existed This would imply
.,s, the transmission of yellow fever IN this
-ronner is Of frequent occurrence
II +be consideration Of this subject 1t Is well
l.. -sn,er, her that modern sanitation rests on a
scientific basis. and theories. no matter no"
,r-,ne they may be, how well they serve
.ho nu-nose. must be supported by at least
-sssonable evidence before they can be accepted
ss 1acts. Therefore. a proper conclusion can be
-escbed only by the most careful analysis OF
satisfies and the practical experience OF those
,vbo have this matter under close observation
Naturally this refers more particularly TO quar-
sntine officers.
NO REASONABLE EVIDENCE.
ns. records of the .ew-York Quarantine Sta
.,ozr that no reasonable or satisfactory cyl
s.nce has been presented, at least in the last
.usn-v wears TO show that yellow fever has
h.on transmitted by infected mosquitoes carried
:, vessels. The port Of New-York receives not
onlv one-half Of all foreign vessels coming TO
,hs Tinted States but also receives more vessels
49,, r,aces infected with yellow fever than
.,, otber port in this country. For THIS reason
.r ouite sure that the investigation OF thls oe-
,s-4r,ent regarding the subject In question is al
i.s+ entitled to careful consideration
=, or5er IN reasonably prove that yellow fever
4. .-.ner,i+ted bv infected mosquitoes carried
r, vsssels we must at least have satslactoiS
evidence that the disease, if occurring on sllp
hoard was not contracted at the port o. u"
nsr-ure We must also exclude malarlal Ie'
,nich in some instances bears an eAceeuliis''
-.,.-,rrarce to yellow fever; besides, cases
Of other diseases found on shipboaro may SotiIs
60 ha mistaken for yellow fever. Unfort-
-, .+asa facts do not always accompany
,,stsn,ents that yellow fever has occurred Oh
of
80 -,osoritoes Furthermore, statements
-,5e bv -4,e sbip's captain on entering port that
,,.uor tsx,er has occurred while in transit are
,o+ sctantifc evidence and cannot be accePteu'
Jtfsa fact that yellow fever occurring on snip
board. alleged TO be due TO the presence OF IN
fected mosquitoes is not as frequently reporte"
ss IT was some years ago. This may be at
tr5buted TO the fart that more careful inVestlSa-
ton is now made. and that prior TO lSSo we hao
no rositive means of detecting obscure or frreg-
ular cases of malarial fever. which inquire SO
prominently in the diagnosis of yellow 1eNer
IN 1880 DIR Iaveran. French army surgeon
stationed at Algiers discovered in the booo the
organism which causes malarial fever The i'm
portance of this cannot be overestimated, in
asmuch as it reveals to us the presence of this
disease in many cases where otherwise it would
he overlooked or mistaken. Before We can ac-
cept the theory that an outbreak Of yellow.
fever occurring in a seaport or inland town is
due to infected mosquitoes carried in the cargo
Of vessel we must have reasonable proof that
Ell other means of transmitting the disease have
been excluded. particularly the presence of mild
or irregular cases. which are not often recog-
niged
FEVER CAUGHT AT PORTS
Vessels are daily arriving ct New-York from
ports which are infected with yellow fever, and
In some seasons cases are frequently removed
al this station but in each instance evidence has
been forthcoming to show that the disease de-
veloped within five days OF departure from an
Infected port, and in instance has evidence
been presented TO show that passengers or crews
arriving on these vessels were subsequently at
tackled with the disease. 1t is true that a mild
case Of yellow fever may have afterward oc-
CURED and remained unrecognized. but If the
Transmission Of infection in this manner was
not very rare some typical case Of the disease
would surely have appeared. No cases of vel
low fever have been found on vessels arriving
al New-York from South American ports, which
are three weeks or more in transit, although
there has been good reason to believe that this
disease has often occurred on board these yes