The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-05-14

Tho Health Officer Gives An Inter-
view.

Health Offfcer Reardon is conduct
ing a systematic campaign of educa-
ton against mosquitoes. He has be-
come thoroughly convinced that the
Indifference of thousands of people in
regard TO fighting mosquitoes is due
TO ignorance or skeptlcism. He has
found out that hundreds of people.
white and colored. do not know that
''wiggle tails" are mosquitoes in the
natural process of evolution. Many
people laugh at the officer when he
informs them that "wiggle tails" de-
yelop into mosquitoes. Lots of men do
not hesitate to say that mosquitoes
are not bred from the "wiggle tails"
That they do not grow or breed I'm
water. and that they are raised in the
foliage OF trees. Many laugh at the
idea that mosquitoes convey malarial
and yellow fever.
To an Item reporter the health off,
Ger said today:
1T would surprise you to Row
how many people are grossly igno-
rant of the many ways In which these
insects are raised. and the absolute
indifference which thousands of peo-
pie display just because they do not
believe that there is any menace to
the public health from mosquitoes.
There are many who do not be-
lieve anything which modern sani
tary science has discovered and
teaches simply because these theories
or discoveries were not advanced by
their fathers OF grand parents years
ago. Old times ideas and prejudices
operate strongly against modern
methods OF sanitation. For instance
could give you the names Of dog
ems OF highly educated, college-bred
men for instance, and many others
among our most successful and de-
sirable citizens, and In every place in
this State. who do not believe that
there Is such a parasite or disease
as the "hookworm." They will laugh
at you and tell you that people who
are suffering from the symptoms
which the most learned scientists of
the world say Is 'hookworm" disease
are just naturally lazy and mo ac-
count" as the skeptics express it.
Notwithstanding the fact that the
United States Marine Hospital and
Public Health Service, the State
health officers. local health boards
and health officers. and hundreds of
the most eminent physicians and
bacteriologists of the entire civilized
world have devoted years of time to
Investigating the relation Of the mos
quito to malarial and yellow fever,
and In spite OF the fact that ninety
nine out of every one hundred family
physicians tell people that that the
female anophes-sss"ffii1Csc,rsfft ~ 80, rsft 90 5hvgys
malarial fever. and the female steg-
omia mosquito spreads yellow fever,
and while the process of inoculation
with either fever garm from one in
dividual To another with the mosqui-
TO as the intermediate host, Is as SIM
pie as understanding that bovine vir-
Gus injected into your arm will pro-
duce disease called vaccinia, and
which any ten year old school girl or
boy will easily understand. neverthe-
less you will find thousands of men
and women who do not believe that
malarial fever is spread by MOSQUITOES
and that the mosquito Is absolutely
the only known method of spreading
this disease. and furthermore that
medical science has thoroughly dis
proved the belief that malaria Is an
air borne disease. or that this fever
may be transmitted through drinking
water or that inhaling night air will
give you malaria.
Quarantine res ulations in the light
OF modern knowledge, have demon
strated the fact beyond all doubt that
mosquitoes not only convey malaria
ana yellow fever but furthermore
show that so far as science has been
aole to determine mosquitoes are the
only possible known methods of in
fecting you with either yellow or ma
larial As proof OF this fact I will
cite the difference in quarantine reg
ulations in the case Of epidemics of
yellow fever since the discovery of
the mosquito infection. When I first
began the duties of health officer in
1895 / recall the fact that an out
break of yellow fever in any portion
OF the United States meant that all
freight traffic was practically stopped
I'm and from the infected zones, and
passenger traffic greatly hampered.