The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1914-07-29
CATCHING RATS
in NEW ORLEANS
DR.. c. w. D'ALEMBERTE RE-
TURNS HOME AND TALKS
ABOUT METHODS OF CAMPAIGN
NOW BEING WAGEO AGAINST
THE RAT PEST.

DR.. G. W. DAlemberte, assistant to
| the state health officer, has returned
| from New Orleans. where he went
| to study the plague situation To a
| Journal representative yesterday. Dr.
| D'Alemberte talked very Interestingly
| of the work being done in New Or
| leans and particularly of the catching
| and examination of rats. Regarding
the catching Of rats, DR.. D'Alemberte
| said:
! 1.-The city is divided into divisions.
Each division is in charge of d COM
missioned officer of the L. s. p. H.
service, with headquarters in most ac-
| cessible location. Rat catcherS are di-
| vided into squads of six men, in
F., charge of a foreman. Two squads of
Twelve men and two torenen are In
charge of an assistant inspector. Four
| squads, twenty-four men. four fore
| men and two assistant inspectors are
| in charge Of an inspector, making a
total Of thirty men.
Each mar is furnished with 100
snap traps and in some instances one
| or two wire cage traps. $50 tags. an
Irvine, and two pounds of bacon per
day. Territory is six blocks. They
average about one rat to ten traps.
The poison squad is composed of
six men and one foreman. They are
equipped with one box of Stearns cleo
bread. The bread is smeared with the
paste on both sides, placed in buckets
and scattered in favorable places.
THE fumigating crews have six
men and one foreman.
THE dead rats are brought to the
laboratory from the collection sta
tons. in large zinc cans. After being
dipped in kerosene, each rat is tagged
with the number of the street and
the name of the catcher. They are
then inspected and the specie is re-
corded The rat is tackled on a shin
gle. skinned and opened so that the
liver and spleen may be inspected.
If the organs appear to be infected,
a guinea pig is inoculated from the
spleen, liver and glands and results
are awaited. An infected pig will die
in from two to four days.
Live rats are brought to the lab
oratory in wire cages, placed in zinc
bucket lined with paper, chloroformed,
and combed for fleas. A record is kept
of the feas and the latter are placed
in q bottle containing alcohol. After
examination all rats are carried away
in zinc cans and incineTated, the tags
are dropped in a solution of caroollc
acid and the tables are swabbed down
with a carbolic solution after each
days work.
The health authorities are not try
ing so much to eXterminate the rats
as they are to locate the existence anu
extent of the disease, says DR.. DAl-
emberte. The determination of rats,
to be of a permanent nature, can only
be accomplished by starving them and
by making the buildings rat-proOf.
1T would be Il good idea said DR..
D'Alemberte, IF the city of Pensa-
cola would send it's building inspec-
tor over to New Orleans to confer
with experts there on the most effec-
tive plans for ratproofing old build
ings GnI making new ones rat-proOf.
That really, in the end, is going TO be
the only effective way of getting rid
of all of the rats
The doctor had the privilege of Wis
iting the hos pitfalls and of seeing the
plague PATIENTS confined there.
"Th" REPORTS of the development Of
the disease are given Immediate and
full pubIicitY.' concluded DR.. DAlem-
bertc. '''Tnc newspapers and the As
soCiat-'I EreSs are notified immedi-
ately W lcn d case of plague is dis
covered and his is doing as much as
anything else to give the public full
confidence in the work of the health
officials and Cf their good faith in
the handling OF the situation