The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1905-09-22
What Opponents Of Mosquito Doctrine
Say.

Say.
1t is contended by the opponents of
the mosquito doctrine that the disap-
pearance of yellow fever from Havana
may not have been due to Major Cor
gas active anti-mosQuito measures,
because yellow fever had frequently
disappeared for considerable periods
from Santiago and Havana and the
smaller cities. In the latter the num-
Der OF non-immunes was always very
small, and the yellow fever epidemic
in one of these soon ceased, on ac-
count of the susceptible material:
whereas in Havana, the commercial,
military and yellow fever center of the
island. the number of yellow fever
lmmunes was always large, thousands
of immigrants coming into it every
year, constituting an uninterrupted
and inexhaustible stream of fresh ma
terial for keeping up yellow fever in
an epidemic form.
All of the many able, cultivated,
trained American medical officers
among them such men as Gen. Wood,
Surgeon Gen. O'Reilly, Major Kean,
Major Gorgas, Surgeon Carter, Sur
geon Glennan, Capt. Stark and others
who were in Havana and who had
personal knowledge of the mosquito
yellow fever experiments and demon
STATIONS made there-were, without
exception, completely convinced that
yellow fever is transmitted to man ex-
clusively by the mosquito.
This is exceedingly strong evidence
to my mind, of the correctness of the
proposition stated in the title of this
paper. Had our distinguished col
leagues, who do not agree with US,
been on the ground, as we were. and
seen with their own eyes, as we saw,
the exactness and completeness of the
proofs, | believe they would have been
convinced as we were.
The idea, held by more able and
prominent medical men, that yellow
fever may be transmitted by ed-bues.
lieas and other suctorial insects is, in
the light of our present knowledge of
insects and disease, highly imbrOba-
BILE. Bed-bugs and heas are found all
over the world, in all climates, and in
all seasons of the year: whereas, yell
ow fever is restricted to certain tropi-
'al and sub-tropical regions and pre-
walls only in the summer and autumn.
Another highly significant fact in
his connection is, that while yellow
ever was melting away like ice under
a summer sun before MAJOR Gorgas'
operations, the city of
Havana was infested with bed bugs. |
1eas, etc., galore. no attention being
oaid to them by the sanitary depart
nent. and that the prevalence of these
1lOod-snckers has continued through.
'ut the subsequent fourteen months,
Turing which the city has remained !
rec from yellow fever.
Although the germ of yelloy fever
las not been found no more has that
If smallpox), yet the scientific and
ircumstantial evidence is practically
positive that it is an animal parasite
whose cycle requires a certain length
If time, and is very similar to that of
he malarial parasite, We know that
he yellow fever germ goes from man
0 the stegOmyia mosquito and from
he stegomyia back to man. No in
lance has ever been advanced in which
here seemed to me even possibility
nat yellow fever had been transmitted
y bed-bugs, teas or flies. Certain it
) that no such case has occurred in
[aVana during the past fourteen
lontbs, in which yellow fever has
cen absent from that city, although
S shown above, unequaled opportun-
les for such an occurrence have
lere been constantly in eXistance.-
Ohm W. Ross, M. D. Surgeon U. S. A.