Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-12-12

~ ease" says the Thomasville Times
Enterprise of malaria, an unusual
amount of which has been observed this
yesar in communities that failed to take time
ly measures of prevention. And our South
Georgia contemporary rightly adds that the
resultant harm cannot be figured in dol
lars and cents
While all disease is costly beyond reckon
ing. malaria takes a particularly heaVy TOLL
of human efficiency and well-belng Inc
percentage of deaths among it's victims may
be relatively small, but its debilitat1ng ell
fects are undeniably grave. 1t retards poIh
the physical and mental growth OF chlldren
who become it's prey, making them back
ward in school and more and more sluggish
as they pass to years Of maturlay. so Sc
riously does it interfere with labor, mat
far-sghted industrial concerns IN malaria
districts are spending money without stunt
to safeguard their working forces against It's
Infection.
Tho sure and permanent preventive is the
ENLISTMENT of the breeding place OF the
anopheles mosquito by when the Aalauv 10
transmitted. When GeOrglas swamp anu WEI
lands have been reclaimed by drainage theIe
will be no source of malaria left in this
State. save such as individual or nelghDor-
hood efforts can easily cope with. NUMBERS
of districts have demonstrated the truth OF
Ibis much to their satisfaction ana proIlI
In certain Western States great areas Where
the malarial sickness and death rate once
an hfgh have been entirely purged; and so
was the Panama Canal zone under the pc
culiarly difficult conditions of tropical
country.
narticulary interesting chapter mas
hoan added to the record by the Unlteu
states Public Health Service during recehC
wartime activities. In his valuable report Oh
DTiY
i+arv Engineer, shows that malaria control
work was carried out in forty-three separate
areas in fifteen States, in addition 10 the
cantonments themselves, representing To-
tai territory of twelve hundred square miles,
"Where environments have been To-
Gated in VIGOROUSLY malarial sections,
the report goes on to say, very llICle
malaria has been contracted by enlisted
men, and the malaria sick rate among
enlisted men in camp has been very
much lower than it would have Deen
had they stayed at home. The command
ing medical officers at the environments
report mosquitoes as being scarce at
nearly all camps, and Anopheles seldom
SEEN except at two of the aviation
camps near rice field areas. When the
army and navy cantonment SICK rate
figures are published it will undOubted-
1y be shown that, due to proper mos
quito control measures, practically very
little and, in many instances, no malaria
has been contracted at camps located in
regions noted for malaria. At some of
the extra cantonment areas this work
has now been going on for two seasons,
and many prominent local physicians
have informed me that there has been
a remarkable reduction in the malaria
sick rate of the civil population in and
their cantonment towns. This dem
onstration work, distributed over wide
area, has protected civil population of
about 100000 and an average, con-
population of 800,0005 and should lead
to better and more extended general
campaign.
Happily the campaign upon this line did
not end with the war The Federal Public
Health Service is prepared to aid any COM
munity in conquering the malarial foe, t.
the extent if need be of sending a specitI
sanitary engineer to make survey and give
counsel. Georgias State Department of
Health also is ready and eager to assist in
local problems of this nature. There is no
necessity, then, of any countys submitting
to this wasteful malady. If duly spent under
scientific direction, a thousandth or ten
thousandth part of what malaria now is cost
ing each year would serve to eXtirpate it once
for all; and the consequent gains for health,
prosperity and progress would be truly meal
culable
usual nomination of president, but nomi-
ic thS o1o