Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-02
| DIR. F|NLEpS THEORY
How He Discovered Source of
Yellow Fever Epidemics.
DEMONSTRATED BY REED
Wreck of the Maine a Menace to
Navigation.
MYSTERY OF THE EXPLOSION
Much Support Given to Claim That It
Was Accidental-Dream Of q
Lewiston, Me-, Woman.
MYSTERY OF THE EXPLOSION
BY WILLIAM e. CURTIS,

BY WILLIAM e. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence of The Star and the Chicago
Record Herald.
HAVANA, March g. 1907.
DR.. Carlos E. Finley, the Havana physi-
clan who discovered that the stegomyia
mosquito is the source of yellow fever cpl
! demc. is a modest old gentleman with
scholarly face and an unassuming manne-.
He resembles the typical college professor.
and talks quietly but earnestly. When l
asked him to tell me the history of the ex-
periments and Investigations leading up to
his great discovery he said:
up to 1880 l had been working for
twelve years on the atmospheric theory OF
the transmission Of yellow fever germs. l
believed they were conveyed through the
air. There is great deal of alkalinity in
the atmosphere Of Cuba. If you will take
plate filed with distilled water and place
strips Of neutral tinted ltmus paper upon
1t, the paper will tuFn blue in ten or twelve
hours. because of the gases in the air. A
long series of experiments demonstrated
that these gases were more prevalent in
| summer than in winter, and in Havana than
| in the country, and were most prevalent
during yellow fever epidemics nthe locali-
| ties where were the largest number Of
cases; and l became almost convinced that
| they were responsible for our frequent cpl
denies. However, in 1879 a medical COM
mission sent mere from the United
States to investigate the yellow fever, and
their report in 1880 upset all my opinions
and compelled me to adbandon the atmos-
pheric theory.
Il continued my experiments in other
directions, and procuring by the process of
exclusion became convinced that yellow
| fever could not be conveyed by any other
means than incubation, like hydrophobia.
l was compelled to reject all other theories,
one after another.
Assuming that theory TO be correct, l
proceeded to convince myself that the inocu-
| lation occurred by means of insects, and
very rapidly came to the conclusion that
| the stegomyia mosquito, at that time called
the culex, was guilty. | demonstrated be-
| yond doubt that this species of mosquito
was most prevalent in the yellow fever
son and most numerous in the particular
| localities where the epidemic was most gen
eral and virulent. l also suspected another
mosquito called the cueX cubansis by LaSa-
gra. But 1t was difficult to get the latter
| to bite more than once. When it filled it
self full of blood it would die, whereas the
| stegomyia~had greater vitality and would
bite as many times as it had the opportunity
| and as frequently it could digest the
| blood it took into its system. Its vital con-
dition as TO temperature and altitude agreed
| perfectly with those of yellow fever and it
was always present where the disease ex-
| listed
Thus my convictions grew firmer and
! frrner, until, in 1881, when 1 went to Wash
| ngton to attend an international sanitary
| conference. L was prepared 10 advance
| theory publicly for the first time. DR.. Amado
/ of Italy and DIR. Sereria of Spain each pre-
| scented different projects and they asked for
| a scientific commission to investigate them.
/ took advantage of this circumstance to
ask that my theory be investigated also.
Tests on Spanish Soldiers.
when 1 returned to Cuba 1 obtained per-
mission from Gen. Blanco then governor
general, to make practical tests upon some
at
| were isolated at the Cabanas fortress their
blood was examined frequently and out of
twenty-five who We're inoculated by means
Of the stegomyia mosquito three had distinct
and severe attacks of yellow fever, two had
mild attacks and fifteen showed no effects
whatever. They remained in perfect health.
At the end. of four years none of the fifteen
had fever and none of the five had repeti-
ton of the attacks. The mosquitoes used
| upon them were not bred from larvae but
l caught them in my house, so that it was
possible that some of them were not in
fected
1.-Two years later, in 1883, 1 was able to
try the incubation theory with a thoroughly
infected mosquito upon a young Jesuit
priest, who was in perfect isolation and
could not have been exposed to the fever
in any other way. Eight days after the
mosquito was applied to him he was taken
down with yellow fever. had a severe case.
but recovered and is now living in this city
He has been frequently exposed during the
last twenty years, but has had no other at
tackS.
Demonstration by Dr. Reed.
This convinced me that the mosquito
was the agent of transmission and | adyo-
Gated that theory, but the profession would
not accept it. All the physicians in Ha-
vana either ridiculed or denounced it. ex-
cept DR.. Delgado. He was the only be-
lever The rest of the profession were all
skeptics, and remained until DR.. Walter
Reed of your army came down here and
demonstrated the truth in such a thorough
manner that they were obliged to accept it.
In 1898 DR.. Koch of Germany advanced
the theory of the transmission of malaria
That corroborated my opinion, and the data
l obtained from the reports of his expert
mentS enabled me to confirm my own opin-
ions. In the Medical Record of New York
May %, 1899, / published paper on The
MOSQUITO as Transmitter Of Yellow Fever
and Malaria in which I advanced the
same views that l now entertain on that
subject, except that the period of incuba-
ton was not determined. In that article I
laid out plan for the extinction of yellow
fever In Havana which is practically ident-
zeal with that afterward employed bv
Major Gorgas both in Havana and since in
Panama"
Wreck Of the Maine.
The wreck of the battleship Maine still
part of the harbor of Havana, and is not
only an eyesore but an obstruction to navf-
cation, and a grievous reminder of one of