The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-06-25
RODENTS OF ALL
 TYPES. CARRIERS .OF DREAD PLAGUE
Interesting Addresses at Medi- cal Meeting Give Unusual
 Information.

San Francisco, June 24.1t'Monkeys have great susceptibility to plague 1 infection, but they do not seem to play an important role in it's propa- gation under natural conditions,'' de- clared Assistant Surgean General W. 1 c. Fucker of the United States Public i Health Service before the American Medical Association here today, in a. paper read before the section on Preventive Medicine and Public l Health, the subject of ''The Rela- i ton of Rodent Plague to Human In l fection.'' Dr. Rucker reviewed the reports of plague in the lower animals, and stat | ed that while many different species had been though at one time: or an- other to suffer from the disease, many 1 of the reports were not confirmed by convincing experimental evidence. | Even the kangaroo was discussed and it was declared that the prairie dog was susceptible to the disease, but that 1 it had never been found among them in nature Rodents, particularly rats l and ground squirrels, were shown to I be caxiers of the disease in nature, 1 and even the Putorius foetdus which 1 is the parlor name for skunk, was in criminated.
 1 pr. Fucker fully discussed rat ex- termination methods and declared i that rot-proofing of buildings used by man for any purpose whatsoever was the best insurance against bubonic plague. ''In the presence of an cpl 1 deTnic every measure which will pro 1 tect man should be, taken,'' said Dr. i Fucker. Among these is imnuniza- tion against the disease, but this is of doubtful practicability in American cities. It could never be made man datory and those persons who would 1 volunteer for such tnoculations do not form the class which is most liable to receive the infection
 Injuries of the brain and of the l eyes are more frequent and cause more deaths in the present war in Europe than was ever the case in any 1 other war, according to pr. Lloyd l Mills of Los Angeles, who related his experience in Austria at etoday's meeting of the American Medical As 1 sociation. These injuries are more serious owing to the short range at which most of the fighting has been \ carried on and to the rotary motion l of the bullet fired from the German rifle, which revolVesf about thirty-two | times a second. Infections are com mon, especially following shrapnel wounds. Of those recovering, the number of totally blind, according to l Dr. Mills, is apparently large and will need special provision on the part of European countries after the war is 1 over.
 The material which the European war is furnishing for an important chapter in military surgery, was the keynote of the Symp posiun1 on Mill I tary Surgery which occupied the at tentfon of the Section Surgery of the American Medical Association to-
 day.
 1 Major A W. Williams of the Medi-
 cal Corps of the United States army, in @ paper on Surgery on the Battle field, emphasized the difficulties en- countered fin caring for the wounded
 in the present European war on ac- count of the amount of trench dghtz ing going on. Owing to the rnaSsing
 of large bodies of men in the trenches
 and the lack of bathing facilities and clean clothing, many severe cases Of infection have developed among the wounded In Belgium, especially, where the trenches have been dug in
 a soil that has for generations been
 heavily nanured for market garden
 ing, the percentage of infection is very
 high. In comparison with other wars
 there is also a much higher propor- ton of shell and shrapnel wounds,
 due to the increased use of artillery.
 A new type of wound Is that pro-
 duced by the darts dropped from aeropIanes in punches of 500 or more. which fall on the enemy like hail,
 producing wounds like bullets Ma
 tor Williams stated that his expert ence as a field surgeon showed that
 by the use of iodine, the skin could
 be quickly steri1ized and surgical the elaborate operating rooms in city
 hospitals.
 E1v,c RTTPUAH