Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-07-08


Thus of the four members of the
famour Reed YelIow-Fever Commits
sion, only one remains alive today,
viz: DR.. Aristides Agramonte, now,
! think, a professor in the University
of Havana.
The Cuban physicians declined to
accept Reeds experimental cases at
Camp lsazear as genuine because
they occurred in a healthful country
locality outside of Havana, and none
of them proved fatal-death being
considered one of the almost necessary
symptoms of yellow fever. Conse-
quently his experiment was repeated
by the distinguished Dr. John Guiteras
at Las Animas, the yellow-fever hos
pital of Havana, of which / was at
the time the director and Dr. Guiteras
director of its laboratory. Guiteras
obtained positive result in eight
cases out of IL non-immunes to
whom infected mosquitoes were ap-
piled. The physicians of Havana
were invited out to see these expert
ments and as three of the patients
died, the doctors were convinced it
was genuine yellow fever. The medi-
'cal faculty of Havana refused also to
accept as conclusive Reeds fomites
experiments, saying that they had
been made in the country, in buildings
altogether different in construction
and material from the houses
occupied by the inhabitants of
the city. In order to convince
them | repeated Reeds formites ex-
pertinent, using eight non-immune
Snaniards. These men passed, two
at time. through poorly-Tentilated
adobe outbuildings similar to those
used by the working people of Havana.
Each man was kept confined for two
weeks in one of these rooms, com.
pletely mosquito proof, using con
stantly bedding and clothing which
had recently been badly Soiled by
black-vomit and other discharges from
yellow-fever patients in the city hos.
pitfalls. All emerged in gopd health
and remained so under observation
for 10 days longer. The Havana ply.
sicians who watched these last expert
mentS were satisfied at their conclu.
sion that yellow fever could not be
contracted from infected" fornites.
We deemed it quite important to con-
vince our medical confreres of Ha.
yana because we knew we should need
their cooperation in making a prac.
teal use of these discoveries in the
work before us.
AS already stated, 1900 saw a Sc
rious epidemic of yellow fever in Ha-
vana. About the end of the year 1900, 4
COL Gorgas, our chief sanitary Off
Ger, acting upon the knowledge gained
by the Finlay-Reed discoveries and
demonstrations, and supplied with
sufficient funds by Gen. Wood, inaug-
urSted vigorous campaign against
yellow fever on anti-mosquito lines.
Almost Immediately the disease began
to disappear before his well-directed
blows. In the very next month, the
number of cases had decreased sur
prisingly. This decrease continued
steadily until in March, 1901, the cpl
demic petered out Occasional stray
Cling cases occurred in the spring and
summer until September %, 1901,
when the last one occurred. After
that, Havana was absolutely free from
yellow fever, which had scourged it
for 40 years, and remained so until
the end of the American occupation.
After this Dr. Finally was appointed
chief sanitary officer by the Cuban
government. ...-@-.
The tactics used by Gorgas in this
brief and successful campaign We're
e vigorous, relentless war on all mo-
sGuitoes, especially the possibly-in-,
fected Stegomyia calopus. Every
possible effort was made to break ;
up their breeding and hiding places.
Not only the house in which yellow
fever had occurred but the whole
block was thoroughly disinfected and
fumigated by the fumes of burning
pyrethrum powder, or sulphur AS a.
highly necessary part of the campaign
Gorgas enforced energetic out-of-door
operations throughout the city and
suburbs -ditching, draining, filling upI
low places. destroying all suspicious
bushes, shrubbery, plants etc, etc,
everything in fact which could pro-
0uce or shelter mosquitoes. By his !
wonderful blend of suaviter in mode !
and fortiter in re he secured the val !
liable cooperation of the citizens of /
Havana. Much encouragement was !
given said citizens by a system of |
generous timing. For instance, a fine
OF $4,000 was assessed upon every
owner of premises upon which any !:
mosquito larvae were discovered. OIL
course, these fines were always re- /
mitted when the offender would come
up to beg off from the fine, upon CON
dition that the fault would be prompt
y remedied and not repeated. When