The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-02-16
CUTS DEATH RATE IN HALF
American Doctor Teaches PeruVians
How To Be Healthy.
bile Health Reports.

L III I1SdltA ItepOIlS.
When n government of Peru was
authorized by its Congress in 1919 to
contract a o for the sanitation Of
1GuitOs, a town Of 10000 inhabitants
lying $500 miles up the Amazon river,
and almost on the equator, the au-
thoritieS Of that government requested
our State Department to recommend
a man who could do the work. DR..
George M. Converse, of the Public
Health Service, was recommended,
and received leave of absence TO un-
dertake the task.
Upon his arrival at Iquttos, in Janu-
airy, 1913, DR.. Canverse found a death
rate which averaged 4O.56 per 1000
for 10 years preceding and which had
risen in 1917 to 1882. The death rate
III al average American city is from
10 to Is. He also found yellow fever
prevalent, and utter ignorance of or
disbelief in the method of its trans
mission. HOOkWOrm was almost uni
vesal. There were no paved streets,
no sewer system, no public water sup
ply.
Plans for sewers, water supply and
street paving had already been pre-
pared by an American engineer,
Samuel E. Bayless, but just then a
! financial crisis arose, due to the low
market price of Peruvian rubber, and
the engineering improvements had tC
be abandoned. So Dr.. Converse sci
to work to see hi could be accom-
plished by purely sanitary measures
in spite Of the lack OF all pubic 2p-
p%lianCeS.
Yellow fever is spread by a species
Of mosquito, and every mosquito
passes through the early stages Of it,
development in standing water. Tht
problem was to destroy the mosquito
III it's larvae state and this was done
by methods employed in the Cana
Zone and elsewhere. All water o
tanners were screened to prevent tn
laying Of mosquito eggs. These ope
rations resulted in the entire disap
pearance of yellow fever within
5 short time, and the people who ha'
: been skeptical at first became satisfied
that real efforts were being made 70
. their welfare when month after mont
: PASSED and no cases Of this diseas
I appeared among them.
!; The campaign against hOokwOrT
was one of education, assisted by tn
!. medical treatment Of nearly 200
. cases. 1t was explained TO the peOpl
Z that the disease resulted from walkin
barefoot on polluted soil and pickin
. up through abrasionS in the skin tn
hook worm parasite. A curious featur
, Of the disease is that it produces /
persons the desire to eat unusua
things, n it was found to be com
mon practice among Indians to ca
little cakes Of baked clay sand, an
r even pieces of clay plaster picked fror
- the walls of their humble houses. Tn
Wearning of shoes or other foot cover
ing was encouraged wherever pos
q sible.
By the means and other genera
sanitary measures, good results We1
RAPIDLY attained. In the first year {
The work the death rate fell frol
4e.52 per 1000 to 2S.SS. For the fir:
six months Of 1914 it dropped furthe
sc to Il. The people seemed to hay
awakened to the importance OF thes
matters, according to DR.. n
a. who has Just returned to this countr
AZ and he is Of opinion that the anpals
r. will be permanent.
At Chile is irrigating more than 1900