Evening star., 1922-11-13
DISEASES Fighting
AL0S|NG Battle
Fellow Fever, HookWorm and.
Malaria About to ee Ban.
ished From Earth.
VIRGINIA COUNTY LEADS
There Fight on Parasites That
Slapped Life Of rsepls Began
Thirteen Years Ago.

III persistent echoes Of wars dis.
turb ones peace Of mind II Is q
wholesome antidote to turn attention
occasionally to another sort Of world
struggle. q behefcent wsr--the war
aSainAt disoase," SAYS bulletin from
the Washington headquarters Of the
National Geographic society, based
on a communication to the society
from William Joseph thowstter.
I'm ell the stirring history Of
mans effort to make himself master
srnx ni aSap.s s ssr' that r. no wsss Gss
tells Of the bitter battles he has
wsged for the conquest Of contAsior,
and Of the ground ne has won in his
struggle with his relentless and in
Vulnerable. though Invisible. foes"
says the bulletin.
Thtee News ftesas.
"Three announcements Of almost
unprecedented import to mankind arc
expected ssTs to be made At no distant
'arhe first Of these. chronolo o sieaily.
at least, will be that yellow fever has
at last been bahished from the face
Of the earth, and that the germ
which causes It has Become extinct.
great aux. and the passenger pigeon.
1.-THE next in order viii probably
be that hookworm disease, which has
been called . handmAideh OF poverty,
an associate Of crime and desensracy;
sna Of ensSrsx oSstxcs Ina 70 ,.ax =. IL.
makes for civilization and which 10
endemic in some that embraces hAlf
OF the earth's population, can b
driven from any community which
has the Will to set rid Of Il.
Last will come the statement that
large scale demonstrations have
proved that malaria can be eradicated
from almost any community that has
enough vital force left to push a
thorough. though inexpensive, cam.
pai6h Tor it's extirpAtion.
Virginia Campaign Center.
Richmond county. Va. where the
wide fight had its inception. stands
out as an example Of what may h1
accomplished and as an evidence that
II can be accomplished with much
less difficulty than was formerly sup
when the work began there, about
thirteen yosrs ago. SO per cent Of
the people had the disease. A few
years later a ftsurvey showed that
this 4 ssH had . 5sen reduced to 50 per cent
: per cent. and in 1929 it can be an
nounced that there is not q single
person in the entire county in whose
body the worms are numerous enough
g produce pS1uss. any OF tho symptoms Of
There are two kinds Of hookworms
that invade the human body, an old
world species known a. Ancylostoma
auodenale And the new world form
known az Necator Ar1ericAnus. |
The New World Species.
The new world species Of hook
worm s small parasitic creature
about as thick as an ordinary pin and
half ~ long. The adult female worm,
lnhabitinE the small intestine, lays
snousAnde OF eggs daily: After these
pass ps out t%a OF the body they hatch within
soopic in size when hatched and
never grow larger as long as they
remain In the ground.
Then comes along a pair Of bare
the body touches the infected ground.
and the little villains make the most
OF sheir opportunity. They prompt
Y begin 20 bore their way through
Known sn 4. 'sHsnSd sroaaSd s ssc're nes nS1s
the skin. they travsi through the
tieeues until they como to the lymph.
atiS system and thenos into the blood.
FINALLY aftsr passing through the
ssrost snd ana ss sh.nssy asy ,h1aa, reach the IT,,
stomach. ultimately landing In the
small intestine, to whose wall they
fasten ehemSelves. and for ~ much
es seven yeara II not disturbed by
treatnen take their fill Of the VIC.
tins blood and intestinal tissue.
Suek Away On Cells,
They develop in their salivary
glands substance that has a marked
power Of tnhibiting coagulation Of
the blood. Attaching themselves 10
the surface OF the Intestinal wall,
rasping ana sucking away the deli.
cate inner cells on which they feed.
they lay bare the deeper tissues and
the wound continues to bleed Tor a
long time, even after the worm has
deserted the spot to which It was at
"But they 80 oven further than
that: BY some method not well un-
derstood, they cause the blood to un.
dsrgo Z change, reducing the amount
OF hemoSlobin--the element that
makes us red.blooded and which con.
stitutes the ingredient that tends to
render healthy blood an unfertle soil
for the seeds OF infection sown there
through lack Of sanitation. II has
been found that in sevsre cases Of
infection ns much. a. So
per cent Of the red oolor1nR matter