Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1914-192?, 1915-04-09
ERADICATING MALARIA
Roanoke Rapids Sets Example for
South. Reduces Cases a
third in a year

Ilc lOllOWlIlB uCCouiiI VI III
Longs health work in this
vicinity is taken fro n a press
bulletin issued by the North
Carolina Board of Hes tn and we
feel sure it will b, intensely
interesting to every citizen of
this place.
What has been con idered one
of the finest examples Of localiz-
ed and efficient work !, the eradi-
cation of malaria in IL Roanoke
Rapids community. The story
reads with as keen il terest as a
report of the Gorgas al ti-malarial
campaign conducted i. the Pana-
ma Canal Zone. As a matter of
fact the methods e. lployed by
the Roanoke Rapids fc rce are the
same as those in the { anal Zone.
The situation was somewhat
as follows: There ,lere four
streams running in I'd around
the town which affor' ed breed
ing places for mosquit, cs in vast
quantities and made malaria a
disease Of almost lague-like
proportions. One out Of every
seven persons exar ined was
found to be infected Officials
from the United Sta es Public
Health Service made, survey of
this community and re 'ommnded
that these four stream be drain
ed and oiled and that he under
brush be cut out. On this re-
commentator, through the sup
port and cooperation Of the dif-
ferent mill companies and cor
porations, the work was under
taken. About 7 miles of ditch
ing was done and 40 acres or
more of under brush we'll clean
ed out. The streams and their
tributaries were oiled, which pro-
cess was accomplished as follows:
A drip can containing crude
petroleum oil was placed at the
head of every little stream,
which, by constant dripping,
kept a thin film of oil upon the
surface of the water. This pre-
vented the mosquitoes breeding
by killing the eggs and larvae.
"As a result of this anti-mos-
quito campaign, malarial chills
were reduced about 38 per cent
the first year and this in spite of
the fact that a person once in
fected with malaria is liable to
have occurrences ever summer
for two or three years, The eff
fects already noted as a result of
this work are set forth in the fol-
lowing extract from the com
mittee's report:
During the summer of 1913,
prior to any anti-maria work, the
mills were constantly short of
help on account of a large num-
Der sick from malarir. During
the past summer there never was
a day when the mills did not
have sufficient help, al d it was a
frequent occurrence, notably at
the Roanoke Mills, tha help had
to be turned away. i. is true
that a number of + aople had
malarial chills during the sum
mer of 1914, but as 95 per cent
of them were recurre ces from
an infection of the pre- yious year
they were easily contr plled, and
the operatives in rare instances
had to quit work. 1t s a fact
that 95 per cent of all cases of
malaria occurring durin the past
malarial season bore tie history
of having had the disease in the
year prior. vey few nev comers
being infected.
The committee advised furth-
er that, if the work t.lat is al
ready started ia COZ tinued, in
three years the place will be
practically free from malaria.
Credit for organizing this work
and pushing it through thus far
belongs very largely to DR.. T.