El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-03-10

health service, working In Mexico. Dur
inc This work. efforts were made to
transmit the disease by the bite OF ped
bugs. also fleas that had fed on typhus
patients. but in no instance were ines
experiments of a positive nature III
practically all OF the cases Wnere rams
mission was attempted-by the plte OF
an infected louse-from human cases
to one of the lower animals such as a
monkey or guinea-plg, the results W
positive. This discovery maze IL pOssl.
BILE to institute measures 10 pIeNeHO
the spread Of this disease Aroih OnS PCT
son to another.
Lice Sole Cause.
persons who are free from lice VIII
not have typhus fever IL occasl oilally
happens that some person not nap gu
ais, infested with these Vermin VIII de-
veion tvDhus fever. but this may be re-
garded as the exception that proves
Inc rule: that is, that typhus prevails
among persons of uncleanly haDits anu
those that are infested with pody YER
min The importance Of the louise on
this account makes it of interest 70
learn something of the habits OF TINS
wingless insect iadi-
Gates. infests the head only The female
head louise deposits her eggs by attach
ine- them TO the shaft OF the hair, and
near the scalp. Within five or SIX days
these eggs or knits hatch out into
Young lice which differ in no respect
from the adult except in size.
Kidding Head of Lice.
'Tn order TO rid the head of head-lice,
it is best to cut the hair with 90 clip
pers especially in the case of chlldreh
or men. and wash the halr WIN SOME
medicine such as tincture OF larkspur:
or slaves acre, or with a mixture OF
kerosene oil and vinegar, in equal parts
The vinegar dissolves the adhesive ms
terial attaching the knit 10 the halr and
causes il to fall off and the Kerosene
oil will kill the louise. After treating
the head with this mixture tne He s.15
should be washed with warm water ana
soap, and in case any lice escaped tle
first application, a second one viii COM
plete the eradication.
The Body Louise.
THE body-louse. or, as II was caIIeu
during the civil war days. the gray
back is of most Importance 70 santa
rfans interested In the eradication OF
tvphus fever. This louise is more pro-
life than the head-louse, the female ue-
posting from so to 80 eggs every nv
or six DAYS. The body-louse lives, ana
the female deposits her eggs, on under
clothing. or clothing next to the BODY.
on the removal of the Undertaking AT
night. lice which are FEEDING on the
body viii take refuge in the clOthes-
They do not attach their eggs TO the
hairs on the body. and this habit makes
il easv to exterminate body lice, as TINS
can be accomplished by boiling the un-
derclOthing at frequent intervals sun
mergence of the underclothing IN anu
semitic solutions or in kerosene or gas
cline will also destroy the lice and the
eggs. The parts of the body usually IN,
tested with lice are the back, around
the waist, and the sides of the chest
Fighting the Disease
Since typhus fever has become prac-
tically epidemic throughout most OF
Mexico. the quarantine officers along
the Texas Mexico border have been on
the alert 10 prevent the Introduction OF
this disease into the United STATES. ne
L. =. public health service has estap-
Ushed-at an of the border pOrts-dis-
injecting plants wherein the clothlng OF
arriving MeSicans can be sterlllzeu oS
steam. and during this process these
persons are compelled to bathe anu II &c
their heads and bodies of lice. NOT
withstaudfng the precautions that nave
been taken. some cases of typhus teVer
have developed in Texas among MY
leans that have recently arrived, ana
these cases have occurred as follows
laredo. cases
III Paso- ...-'''--'-' >,
Moore. ............-..--. p.
San Antonio. --.--'- O.,
Eagle Pass -....--. ''--''-
BraCk etVille. ..--.-...s - ---'A
"Of these % cases, six nave term
mated fatally.
No Cause for Alarm.
There is no cause for alarm on ac-
count of the appearance OF these cases
OF typhus along the border out all phy =
sicians should be constantly on the alet
for mild types of typhus and should al
rect that the necessary precautions u
prevent its spread should be promPIlS
instituted
There is no danger Of an epidemic
Of typhus among the citizens OF T.
Paso who keen themselves clean nov
that the disease has been introduced
# will persist for some time amont
sons. and occasionally cases VIII prop
ably appear among others, owing 70 az
infection from contact with some lous'
carrying individual"