The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-07-18
OUR GREAT NEED
OF QUARANTINE
DR CoFER DELIVERS AN INTER-
EsTiNu ADDRESS TO HONOLULU
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Der of Commerce yesterday at 3l
O'Clock I'M the rooms IN the Stangen- /
valid building. was one of the most
interesting and instructive ones which |
have been held by the association for
long time In accordance with the
policy which It was recently decided
TO adopt. of inviting experts I'm various
lines to address the meetings. Dr. l.. y.
Cofer. head of the United States Ma
rine Hospital and Quarantine service
for the Territory, was introduced by
Chairman J. +. Morgan as the speak
er of the day. and made the first adj
dress.
DIR. Cofer gave most of his time to
the discussion of the yellow fever
question. and afterwards also took up
the matter Of combating plague and
other diseases Regarding yellow fever,
he spoke strongly of the necessity OF
strictly guarding against fits introduce
ton here. by means OF stringent qua
rantine rules and the thorough disin-
lection Of all vessels coming from
ports infected with the disease. The
greatest danger of course is from YES
sells coming from~Salina Cruz since the
opening of the Tehuantepec railroad
and the establishment Of a great move
ment of traffic through a thoroughly
infected region.
The infection is likely to be brought
] sfufrn ~ of mi 10
quito the latest name for which, ac-
cording to DR.. Cofer, is Stegomia Gallo
pus. This insect is dangerous only
when It has had an opportunity of it.
self becoming infected with the yellow
fever germs through biting a person
having the disease. II is then capable
of communicating the infection by its
bite This mosquito exists here, and
is what is generally known here as the
daylight mosquito.
! DR.. Cofer stated that the conditions
are favorable in Honolulu for very
/. serious infection should the disease
ever get introduced here, and that Il
would be a very difficult matter TO
stamp It out once it did get such a
start
The speaker discussed at the length
the habits of the stegomia Calopus and
the means of combating it, as well as
the disease of yellogw fever, its symp-
/ toms and fatality, and gave descrip-
! lions of the conditions existing on the
} Isthmus of Tehuantepec and what has
! been accomplished I'm way of COM
p batting the disease there. He adyocat-
ed the employment of a competent ply
sician, expert i'm yellow fever practice,
to be under the supervision Of the
of the Quarantine service, to be sta
toned regularly on every vessel run
ming regularly between Salina Cruz
and this port Such a physician by
experimenting disinfection at sea and
careful examination, could greatly
shorten the time Of quarantine off this
port, and facilitate the work greatly
In reply to questions Of the members
DR.. Cofer stated that the only safety in
the matter was TO never relax vigilance
and to thoroughly enforce the disinfec-
ton of all vessels from yellow fever
districts. Even with these precautions
e the speaker was not sure but that I'M
t der proper conditions the disease bear
ing mosquito might be able to fly
r ashore from vessel anchored outside
the harbor.
The matter of damage done by dis
= infection TO ships cargOes was dis
/ cussed at some length by the body, and
! the best means of preventing this. The
members of the body, however, ex-
pressed themselves ready and anxious
g to do all in their power to facilitate
the work of the quarantine officers.
DIR. Golfer then spoke of the recrudes-
} cence of Asiatic plague I'm the Territory
? and the work which is being done %
investigate and combat 1t. He spoke
of the work which is now being done
along this line by DR.. CurTie, Of the
United States Marine Hospital Service
who was recently sent here for the
purpose, and asked the Chamber OF
Commerce TO lend financial assistance
to the work, as there were no funds
available with which TO procure rats
and mice which It Is necessary to
! experiment on, In the search for and
, investigation of the habits OF the pla-
que germs. lie also advocated the
, Offering of a bounty for rats, both alive
! and dead, which he believed to be the
/ most effective means Of keeping down
> the disease.
The speaker also talked briefly on
> the matter of smallpox and advocated
r system of vaccination for the islands
{ to be strictly enforced.
DR.. Cofer gave statistics showing IN
brief the work done by the quarantine
service here during the past year as
follows It being the most extensive o.
+, the kind done at any American pOrl
1 avoanf Manila