The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-02
STAMPING OUT OF YELLOW FEVER IN PANAMA


 tion Many of them left and returned to the United States.
 vigorous campaign was then under taken by Colonel Gorgas, consisting of, first. the prevention of the propagation of mosquitoes; second, the isolation of the persons afflicted with the disease in order to prevent the spread of the infection. and. third, the destruction of III mosquitoes capable of transmitting the fever t
 Orders were issued requiring that all screens on windows in tho Admnistra- tion Building be closed. Guards were stationed at the spring hinged vesti- bute doors to prevent them being props ped open and to see that persons enter ing and leaving were not allowed to ioiter on the sill On each alternate Sunday the building went through a thorough process of fumigatlon.
 These precautions proved so success full that although fire buckets filled with water were allowed to stand in the building, no mosquito, eggs or lar vac were found in them.
 Yellow fever-bearing mosquitoes do not breed in the open swamps or larger bodies of water, but require the pro- lection of buildings. grass. or foliage They are incapable of sustained flights for any considerable distances. The sanitary authorities recognized that the danger arose from mosquitoes bred. in and around the houses of the towns. The work of preventing the propoga- tion of these mosquitoes was done by .'stegonyia brigades" working under the health officers of Panama and Coz Ion.
 These towns were divided into dis tricts, and each district was assigned to an inspector, who visited each house once or twice week to see that no mosquito larvae were breeding on the premises. #
 In the past his work was exceedingly difficult. owing to the primitive water supply of Panama and Colon, which compelled the inhabitants to rely on water barrels, cisterns, and other small and stagnant tanks for sufficient wa ter for ordinary domestic use. These stagnant tanks offered innumerable breeding places for mosquitoes in every quarter of the city. Z
 Efforts of the "stegomyia brigade" for a while were confined to covering all water receptacles with wooden eov- CTS or wire netting in order to exclude mosquitoes from the surface of the wa ter.
 When the mains from the reservoir which supplies the city of Panama with
 water were sufficiently extended to permit the partial use of the new hy- drants on the street corners. and free water was supplied to all who came, it became possible to begin the whole sale destruction of water barrels. tanks and ether household water containers. and to fill up wells and other under ground cisterns.
 All of these receptacIes and breeding places were destroyed. The only ves- sels in which domestic water is now allowed to stand are the large earthen- ware jars and coolers fin use by the in- habitants of the isthmus.
 To prevent the infection of mosqui- toes and the consequent spread of yell low fever. it was necessary that all pa tients should be isolated as soon as the diseases manifested itelf For q time the sanitary officials were dependent for information of new cases upon volun- tary declaration or upon the reports of laborers of the "stegomyia brigade"
 As result of this imperfect system. however, many cases were never re- ported and others remained for several days unscreened before they were brought to the notice of the authori- ties.
 To remedy this condition, eight local physicians were appointed in Panama, and five in Colon to act as medical in- toulouse canvass of the two cities, re- porting all suspected eases to the au- thoritids,