The Washington herald., 1909-07-04

7 placing mosquito- netting around eli pa
tients in the yellow fever zone just as
/ soon as any temperature develops. With
| our exact and abundant knowledge con
! cerulng yellow fever il is reasonable 10
I believe that K VIII never again become
epidemic ~ this country. Screens and
/ sanitation VIII stop II. and keep IL To-
/ called in a single community. Never
! theless, persons living in those parts OF
/ the country subject 90 yellow fever should
I destroy and prevent the breeding of mos
quitOes. a precauuon which is entirely
/ practicable"
/ IF malaria is spread among human
( beings by mosquitoes cannot malarial
! diseases be absolutely prevented"
asked
/ Certainly. All forms Of malaria poi
/ son are carried from one person to an
/ other by the mosquito known as the an
/ opheles, which is found In many local
/ flies throughout the United States. Where
and how malaria organisms originated
we do not know, any more than we know
/ the beginning Of the horse. sheep. or COW.
/ Destroy the mosquitoes. the vehicles by
which malaria is spread, and ague and
chills and fever due TO malaria viii dis
appear.
War on Insects.
! Sanitation in the future VIII be large
/ " war on Insects. Rats have the bu-
bonic plague and feas from them con-
vey the disease to human beings Mos
/ quitoes spread yellow fever and malaria.
| Flies with their feet and legs. a purely
mechanical process, carry typhoid fever
/ directly to ones kitchen or dining-room.
/ Sanitation. therefore. N1I undertake 10
Iexterminate those particular insects which
are dangerous 70 human life. To reach
the flea. however. war must be made on
/ the rat.
There are regions In this country,
| Gen. WymGn went on 10 say. with soil
Of remarkable productiveness. but sparse
/ " settled. because the people are afraid
/ OF the .nalarial fevers which prevail
there and which were formerly attributed
to the vapors arising from the earth. In
| the coming battle with the mosquito,
swamps VIII he drained and immense
tracts OF land. worth hundreds Of millions
/ Of dollars. viii cease 10 be the habitat
| OF lizards. turtles, and snakes. and be
! transformed into fertile farms ANY
man. whether he lives IN the city or
country. can rid his premises Of mos
| quitOes If he viii keep everything about
1
be watchful Even the tiny dent in an
old tin can or In the spouting on the roof
Is large enough receptacle for the
breeding Of cloud Of those annoying
and pestiferous insects"
Typhoid spread by Contact.
What is your theory concerning the
prevalence Of typhoid fever?"
THAT is a big question: national
question. as a matter Of fact. It was
believed that typhoid fever was a water
/ borne disease. and so It is. But I now
think 1t is spread more largely by con-
tact than we have heretofore supposed
DR.. Victor c. Vaughan. OF Michigan, one
OF the commissioners to investigate ty-
/ phoid fever at the camps OF our soldiers
during the war with Spain. said he had
! believed and taught that 50 per cent or
the disease was transmitted by drink
ing water. During his investigation, how
ever, he concluded that typhoid fever was
principally spread by personal contact.
The personal contact theory doesn't Z
mean that typhoid is infectious, Ike
smallpox; that everything in the room OF
the patient is dangerous. or that the
germ can be inhaled, but that the bedding
] Is very likely TO contain the haciln
| through the several operations Of nature
and thus get on the hands Of nurses and
visitors, or be transmitted by the hands
( OF the patient himself Flies from the
| SICK room or the house may easily take
the becilli elsewhere in the neighborhood
There has been more or less typhoid
| fever IN Washington. and It's continued
prevalence has been quite a puzzle.