El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-05-14
RENE BACHE'S BUDGET
MYSTERY Of THE MOSQUITO
SCIENTISTS TAKE IT APART TO FIND OUT HO
IT WORKS.
Suspicious Now Entertained That It Distributes Other
Diseases Besides Malaria and Yellow Fever-Puz-
zle of It's Song at Last Cleared Up.

wv YASHINGTON, D. C, May IA
M To take the mosquito apart
w and find out why it acts the
way it does. Such is the task
which science has undertaken with ut
most seriousness. now that the danger
Gus character of the insect is fully I'M
derstOOd-
All over the world. a. the present
time, experts are studying mosquitoes
ia the laboratory and in their native
haunts. They are even going to the
trouble to breed them atificially, in or
der TO find out everything about their
life history from start to finish. The
most intimate anatomy of the creatures
is being studied out, even to the struc-
ture of the brain and nervous system.
Some of the most important work Of
this kind is being done at Khartoum, in
the Sudan, where only a few years ago
the dreaded Mahdi reigned supreme.
Insect Communicates Malaria.
The reason for all this activity lies in
the fact that there is an immense deal
yet to be learned about the mosquito
a carrier of diseases That one kind of
mosquito (Anopheles) is solely respon-
sible for the existence and spread Of
malaria has already been determined.
Likewise, that another kind (Stego-
myia) is exclusively accountable for
yellow fever, everybody knows But
there is good cause to suspect that other
genera of these insects are the common
carriers of other and very serious mala-
dies-especiaIly those prevailing in the
tropics, which have become Of greater
interest 20 ourselves since our acquisi-
ton of the Philippines and Porto Rico
Also in Philippines.
Many of our soldiers il the Philip
pines, as well as other Americans VINO
have gone TO live there. are attacked by
q malignant anemia, accompanied by
sweIlings and other unpleasant symp-
toms, which IS attributable to minute
worm that finds its way into the blood.
1t has been definitely ascertained that
this disease is conveyed and spread
by mosquitoes.
In our own southern states there fis a
serious malady commonly called break
bone fever" but otherwise known as
sdengue" II also prevails in the trop-
les quite generally. There is no ques- /
ton of the fact that this disease owes !
fits spread TO species of mosquito /
which science has named Culex fati- |
gans-
Causes Trouble in South.
Breakbone fever, in its symptoms, /
bears some resemblance to yellow fever |
SO much so that the latter has often |
meen mistaken for the former. There is /
at least a likelihood that its germ is
related 10 that OF yellow fever But
this germ has never been definitely iSo-
lated and identified. probably for the
reason that il is too small TO be seen
even with the aid of a high-power mi
croscope.
Tne same thing. indeed is true of the
yellow fever germ That the latter is
carried by mosquitoes was proved ten
years ago by the remarkable expert
ments Of DR.. Walter Reed, U. S. A.
who demonstrated by actual trial that !
human beings could not catch yellow
fever if protected against attack by
mosquitoes, even though they slept in
beds in which sufferers from the dis
ease had recently died. Furthermore,
the fact that there is q specific germ.
and that IL is extremely minute, is
shown conclusively by the circumstance
that the blood of yellow fever patient.