Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-21
CLASSED AS RARE
IN THE DISTRICT
Dr.. BreCht Declares Malaria Is
q Preventable and Durable
Disease.
RECLAlMING THE FLATS
AID TO DETERMINATION
Describes Conditions Which Give
Rise to Infection-Part the
Mosquitoes Play.

Isst. &nat1on of the Potomac mats has
resulted III making malaria a rare dis
ease in the District Of Columbia. accord
lnc 10 Dr. Nelson Du Val Brccht. for
metly Of the public health service and
lately attached To the revenue cutter
Manning. DR. Brecht. who has been
writing series of articles public
health questions for The Star. believes
that there is a common impression abroad
IL Tire effect that tho National Capital
Is q malaria infested community.
IN the following article Or. Brecht de-
scFibcs the conditions which give rise To
the disease and points out that Wash
inSton is practically free OF these causes:
.'Etymologically the word malaria
means bad air, nc says. Malaria is
an infectious or communicable disease,
which occurs in four forms: a Attacks
OF intermittent fever which ensue regu-
larry daily, every other day or every
third day; - continued fever; 81 GER
tain peruicious. rapidly fatal forms, and
90 chronic wasting, with anemia.
Fever Recognized Early.
.'Malarial fever was recognized as a
distinct disease long ago as Jt0 years
before Christ, and Hppocratcs divided
il into types that we recognize today.
Empedocles 600 Is. ca discovered the re-
lationship of the disease to stagnant
water and stopped an epidemic by drain
ing staSaant pools PausaniarstateS that
n ancient Greece the inhabitants were
forced 10 abandon cities on account Of
scourses of mosquitoes For this reason
the citizens OF Monte. rich city of lonia,
were forced to flee to Mileta, and the same
thing happened with PerGamo, beauti-
full city in Asia 1t is probable that in
lection of the ancient Greeks with ma
laria and the resulting anemia aided ma
terially in their national decadence.
Theodoretus states that Sapor. King of
Persia. was forced TO raise the siege OF
Nisbis by q plague of Snats, which at
lacked his elephants and beasts of bur-
den and SO caused the rout of his
army. Animal parasites Of microscope
cal dimensions. resembling the causa-
tive microbe of malaria in man and
propaSatcd by mosquitoes. cause dis
ease in many of the lower animals. as
cattle. horses. monkeys, fish, snakes.
turtles. terTapins. and crows. sparrows and
other birds. II should be understood that
the terms mosquito and 'gnat are
Synonymous. the former being employed
more frequently in the United States and
the latter in Great Britain.
Antedates the Caesars.
Malaria was prevalent at Rome long
previous 10 the time of the Caesars. and
is relation TO the marshes was so well
recognized that the elder Tarquin drained
them by constructing enormous sewers.
which were hkened by Pliny 10 subter
rauean streets. The disease was con-
4ueTed for a time. but it returned again
and again with the vicissitudes of the
declining empire. here again aiding po-
ttatly in the decline.
Ihe J2DanCSe author. Pa kin states in
his work kumono Tayema Anna Yo No
Tsuhi. dated 1:.;J: AS a storm came
~ those who lived in substantial abodes
closed the outer shutters tightly and
susPending mosquito nets as at night
crept under them and burnt pine needles
IN order ~ kill the swarmS of insects
mat had sought refuge in their dwell
ln@s. The poor people did not trouble
the mosquitoes, nor did the latter an
noy them, they being used to one an
otncrs presence
In the same volume Takeyasu SAYS: Il
am ready for a cup OF tea which ply
sicians consider = good thing 10 strengl tn
en- the body against malarial trouble
bred in the night air.
In like manner, malaria has prevailed
~ nearly all parts of the world wnere
sNamps existed. and its prevalence has
decreased steadily for many years as a
result of the steady Improvement of the
SOIL Tor purposes of cultivation. From
early times the cause of the disease was
VSl+GNS1 - De the pau air, ernuyid or
Iniasm emanating from the ground, es-
pecially al night
In 1881 \. Layeran. a French army
surgeon, stationed at Algiers discov-
cred ~ the blood of patients suffering
with Inalarial fever certain micro-or-
sanisms which proved to be the spe-
cine cause Of the disease. Richard
another French army surgeon con-
nrmea these observations. In 1855 the
Italians. Marchiafaya and Celii, de-
scribed the parasites with great ac-
curac$, and in the same year Golei dis
covered tnat the p2roxysn OF fever
conceded invariably with the time at
which the parasites separated into
spores
Discoveries by Scientists.