Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-14
ITS CLOSING HOURS
Sessions Of Sanitary Con-
ference.
CON IGNITION READY
REPORTED TO AND APPROVED By
DELEGATES.
Transmission of Yellow Fever Germs
by Mosquitoes Discussed at
Some Length.
CON v ENTION READY

= Inc sanitary conference met tHiS iftotA-
ing for its final session, and the formal
convention, which Is to be presented to all
the South American republics for signature
was reported from the advisory council and
was approved by the conference. This is a
diplomatic act which practically binds the
countries that have sent delegates to the
convention.
DR.. Geddings was recognized for brief
talk He said that the Paris Pasteur In
sttute had made the startling announce
ment that infected yellow fever mosquitoes
produced infected offspring. This was
most important fact If established and the
general theory conceded with some Of the
observations made In New Orleans. He
asked therefore, that DR.. Guiteras, who
was recognized authority on the subject,
should tell the conference what he had OBJ
served during the New Orleans outbreak.
DR.. Guteras said that he was aware of
the announcement that had been made. He
thought everything, however. pointed to-
ward an error of Judgment on the part OF
the French investigators. He said that 1t
was true that one mild case Of yellow fever
had been produced from the eggs of a. fe-
male stegomia laid on the twelfth day
after she had bitten yellow fever patient
and when she was in a condition to trans
nit the disease. He thought, however, that
the experiment must have been at fault In
some point, as they Hdu HumtFouS CASES "
the contrary in their experiments in Ha-
vana.
Dr. Carroll of the Army Medical Museum.
who was one Of the party who originally
discovered the mosquito transmission proc
ess in Cuba, said that he thoroughly agreed
with Dr. Guiteras. as his observations in
Cuba had not at all corroborated the idea
that infected mosquitoes would lay infected
eggs.
Dr.. Guiteras said further that he had two
non-immunes engaged in feeding the mos
Guitoes kept in the hospital in Havana.
These men daily put their arms into the
jars containing mosquitoes raised from pre-
sumably infected eggs. None of them con-
tracted the disease, as they certainly would
have done had the Fren,8i theory been
correct Also were 1t true that the mos
quitoes from infected eggs produced a mild
case of yellow fever the disease would long
ago have died out through a process OF
characterization distributed by the heredi-
tarily infected mosquitoes.
DR.. Licraga entirely confirmed the re-
marks of the two previous speakers and
said that had the French theory been true
1t was entirely impossible that yellow fever
could have been eradfcated from Havana
as 1t had been.
DR.. Stiles of the marine hospital service
said that he thought 1t dangerous to tmme-
diately dismiss the French announcement as
entirely baseless. 1t must be remembered
In favor of the French announcement that
the Pasteur scientists had not claimed that
the disease was commonly transmitted from
infected eggs, but that it was possible and
occasional method of transmission. We had
a number Of diseases carried by insects that
were hereditary, Texas fever and malaria,
for example. though DR.. Stiles named sew
eral more Therefore he thought it well to
receive the French announcement with an
open mind and not dismiss 1t entirely on
the strength even, of a. hundred negative
cases in Cuba.
A few articles were added to the qnaran-
tine regulations before they were finally
ready for signature. and the finished copies
were read to the convention, DR.. Gatewood
reading the English and DR.. Moore the
Spanish copy.
Afternoon Session Yesterday.
The afternoon session was devoted to the
presentation of papers and to finishing the
consideration of the quarantine regulations
which it was expected would be signed to-
day by the delegates preparatory to their
presentation for adoption ey the various
governments interested.
One of the most popular papers presented
was by DR.. l.. o. Howard of the Depart
ment of Agriculture, who is one of the
greatest authorities in the world on the
habits and distribution of the yeriow fever
mosquito.
Dr. Howard said that much Of the In
formation about the mosquito in possession
of the department had already been pre-
scented to the delegates In pamphlet pre-
scented to them, but that since that pamph-
let had been printed, within the past two
days. in fact, two of the field workers Of
the department lad returned from Mexico
and Central and South America, where
they had made special study of the yell
low fever mosquito.
The field assistants had been awarded
every courtesy and afforded all facilities In
their work. They had found. as had been
expected, that the yellow fever mosquito
was found wherever the fever was known
to exist, though in these localities the mos
quito had never before been Identified by
a competent ent0mologist
They also found in some places where
earnest war was being waged against the
mosquito, that the crusade was abortive be-
cause the authorities overlooked the real
breeding places of the insects. Coal Oil
was sprinlxled On big ponds and bitches
where the mosquito was not found, but the
hoof prints of cattle and small quantities
houses were neglected and here stagomyia
were breeding merrily
In Holy Water Fonts.
In a church at Grenada. Hr. Busck
found stegomyia (the yellow fever mos
QUITO breeding abundantly in the holy wa
ter font and also in several other churches
In different West Indian islands. The
adult mosquitoes were abundant in these
churches. I find, from telephone converse
ton with one of the officials of st. Patrick s
parish In this city that 1t is the custom,
according to the ritual of the church, to
place certain amount OF salt in the holy
water in the church fonts.
Now the work of the public health and
marine hospital service in New Orleans
during the recent epidemic has shown that
salt In large quantities placed IN the gut
tiers Of the city win kill mosquito larvae.
Therefore, II church officials will place q
sufficient amount of salt in their fonts they
VIII observe the ritual and will kill the
mosquitoes also.
The mosquito breeds better In small.
clear deposits of water and 1t was found
to be numerous in the concave bot
toms of beer bottles used as borders for