The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1911-10-24
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fi4~nast Eattuetce
iiin 1898. after enc hmoueha nstu
paNoA n i'nhn AMI after Havana hai
bad Nellou fnttf for thfte huhdffi
yehh lhH governments. Nrnt ~ work,
backed ap ~ The military, tnd gave
hatann cleaning eueh 40 40 other city
10 the world had ever experienced rhcf
made Il IN every way n arutlcts town.
The nest wear there vas more yellow
fever in Harnna thAn FOR any year dur
ing the previous ten. The next wear
they went 90 work and changed their
tactics. They oiled and drained surface
waters. screened cisterns and the like,
screened fever paUente and 40 forth.
The result was that IN q years time
they had cfnhicated yellow fever, and
for the first Tins in three hundred years
there was not ease reported. Incl
dentally they had cradicated the yellow
fever mosquito. That Is why 7 say that
sanitary arrangements or cleanliness QUE
absolutely no figure. with this disease
while this mosquito is present.
In the absence Of the yellow fever
mosquito a patient c,iffering from vel
low fever is no moro dangerous to this
community than a man with a bad cold
mot 40 much. Yet that 10 fact that
is not understood in this city.
The Way It Would Be.
Suppose an Infected mosquito es-
capped from this ship at present to the
shore A certain proportion OF the peo-
pie whom this mosquito bit would come
down With an unrecognized fever be-
cause it is absolutely true that at the
first appearance of any disease in a
community it is not identified imme.
ldiately by the medical profession or
by the people.
1--WE would have certain number
of cases. Some might not even be
reported to the physicians and the
diagnosis never be made at all. In
other instances the diagnosis would be
faulty or doubtful Following that
there would be an interval of about
twelve days and then suddenly all over
the town, everywhere we would have
dozens and dozens of cases. We would
at last recognize that calamity had be-
fallen us.
These first cases would be individ-
uals infected directly by the mosquitoes
which escaped from this vessel. The
interval after those first cases would
mean that during the first three days
of their illness they had been bitten
by dozens of mosquitoes which had pro-
ceeded to cook up that poison in their
systems and go out and infect all in
dividuals.
"' Now, if we had no stegomia mos
quitOes here and an infected mosquito
came ashore he would bite, say about
one hundred persons of whom certain
percentage would take it, probably
about half. Those eases would be re-
ported, and number Of them would
| probably die but there would be no
more cases at all In other words there
would be no mosquitoes here to carry
the infection. The community would
be immune TO yellow fever.
Things 70 Remember.
There are few things which
should be hammered into this eOmmu-
nifty: First, that yellow fever can be
conveyed by nothing except the yellow
fever. mosquito; secondly, that the vel
low fever mosquito is universally dis
trihnted in this city; thirdly, that in
the absence of, the yellow fever mos
quito, this community is absolutely inn
munes from yellow fever
Therefore. it is : the logical thing
to do to get busy and work as we have
never worked before, for no matter how
jealous and conscientious our quaran.
tine officials are, some day yellow
fever mosquito or n yellow fever pa
tient is going to come ashore.
This is one of Uncle Sam Is most
valuable strongholds and is becoming
more and more valuable To my mind
it is well within the bounds of posi-
bility that should Uncle Sam decide
that this community win not protect
his forces on this island, he will take
our government away from us and es-
tablish a commission and clean it up
for us. And that win mean the mailed
fist of martial law; something which
is the last thing to be desired in this
community