The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-08-13
HOW MOSQUITOES WERE
 DRIVEN FROM HAVANA

The following report of Major w. c Gorgas of the United States Army or the ridding of Havana, Cuba, of mos quitoes Is interesting at this time: l flee of Chief Sanitary oficer oi To the Adjutant General. Departmen, s,of GuSa; 3a.ya aayapa; aS h.-.w,,, r.nor, current year. 1901. In the body of the report will be ports from the sub divisions of the department. These will explain them
 The general work of the departmen, I lines as last year. The health of the city has been excellent. The death rate for the year, shows progres.
 d deerease of a44o pen Si'hs is 1900 to 22.11 in 1901. a lower rate than Havana has ever attained before The number of cases of infectious from yellow fever, there were only eighteen deaths, and no cases at all after the first of October.
 But the most important work of the inaugurated for the first time this year. The results have been so posi- tive and unexpected. as far as vel low fever Is concerned; and so marked {,
 
 to dwell on this phase of the report in some detail. as Havana Is the first place to do any systematic work for large scale. Since the 'Sn%s mosquito % has been recognized as the cause of dis | ease.
 War sa Mosquitoes.
 The army board of which Major Reed was president. having demonstrated in 1900 the mosquito theory of pr. Fin lay. and having shown conclusively l that the mosquito was the only meth cd of propagating yellow fever. exten- sive work. looking to the destruction of the mosquito, was organized at the beginning of 1901. It was evident that general sanitary methods would not | eradicate yellow fever in any short time. While the death rate of the city had steadily improved during 1900, vel ! low fever had been severe. and the 1 same can be said of the preceding year. 1899, our first year of occupa- ton. With a whole year of work on the most improved sanitary lines, we had one of the worst winter epidemics of yellow fever that had ever occurred in Havana: The city, at the begin ming of 1901, had 10000 non-immunes scattered in various parts, and yellow fever infection equally scattered. Even with the truth of the mosquito theory granted. it seemed impossible, under any system of killing mosquitoes. No mosquito killing in the Havana houses could possibly kill all the mosquitoes, and considerable numbers must always escape; and these. it was thought, would be enough to keep up the infec- tion.
 The work was planned, more par ticularly with regard to yellow fever, with the idea, first, of preventing in every possible way the breeding of mosquitoes; second, of preventing in every possible way the stegomyia mosquitoes from biting yellow fever patients; third. of killing. as far as possible, all mosquitoes that had bit ten yellow fever patients.
 Careful investigation and study of the question showed that mosquitoes were being bred in almost every house in Havana. The water supplied by the city was hard, and almost every fam fly collected rain water for washing water were found to be the particular habitat of the stegomyia. There be- ing no general system of sewerage every house had cess-pool of some kind. These cess-pools were great places for breeding mosquitoes. The city is surrounded in all its sub- urbs by gardens and farms which are vegetables and grasses. These irriga- ted farms were favorable to the de- velopment of mosquitoes. more partic- ularIy the anopheles, and these irri- gation ditches, as the city has extend ed, have become uncovered sewers grasses and weeds of all kinds. There are miles and miles of such ditches, every square foot of which was breed ing mosquitoes.
 Organized Brigades.
 To meet this condition of affairs, three sets of mosquito workers were organized; the "stegomyia brigade" for