The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1922-05-18
NEWBORN DANGER
IN''YE[L0W fever
May Cross Ocean in Event Of
Quick Transit Between Amer4i
icsn and African Tropics.
GORGAS' WARNING RECALLED
In Former Days Time of Transit
Across Atlantic Was Long Enough
to Allow all Cases Of Fever on
Board to Kill or Cure.

Panama.-Theltwo Portuguese avia-
tors flying across the Atlantic from
Africa to South America brings to
mind prophetic warning of the late
General Gorgas This was to the
effect that when quick transportation
between tropical Africa and tropical
America should develop, as it evantu'
ally would, lit would greatly increase
the. danger of the spread of yellow
fever to the Eastern Hemisphere as
long as the disease remained in South
America, especially in Brazil.
+ IA Days Of. the Slave Trade.
The reason why yellow fever did not
spread from America to Africa IN the
days Of the slave trade, as malaria
did spread from Africa to America
then, illutrates beautifully an irnpOr-
tant difference between the twossreat
tropical plaques, as well as gives point
and pertinence to General GorgaS'
warning. yellow fever kills or, cures
lin very4 short time : malariainmay
linger in the system for, a very long
time. InaifeFmer days the timesF OF
transit across the Atlantic was long
enough tor allow, all cases OF yellow
|, fever ION beard ship to die or to re-
cover before the voyage ended. Re-
cOvery conferred immunity on the for
innate, andtifa mosquito should ute
,tl1em after they reached AfricA2tney
found NO germs In them to transmit
to others. so 1t required a very QUICK
M frF
10. not yet positively certain that yei-
how fever ever did cross the ocean.
I. General Gorgas was on his way to tho
west coast of Africa to settle this
question definitely when he died In
k,LondOn.
|,ssin An important Difference.
81 But malaria, which seems to nave
originated in Africa, does not CONFER
immunitE. aIp0n4zsthese who recover
from an attack. sdfhe germs may sur
vive in the system of the sufferer for
months. or even for years. IN a more
or less dormant state, even II acute
attacks do not again develop, and
these germs may infect the anophaes
or malaria carrying mosquitoes, and
so enable them to infect others. In
this way the African slaves brought
malaria to America with them, but the
slave traders did not carry back yell
low fever with them to Africa-ar
least it is not definitely known that
they did-and the long time OF transit
was unfavorable to any considerable
TRANSPORTATION of the infection. 1t is
certain that "A frica has not suffered
from the imported American plague or
yellow fever as much as America has
from the malaria imported from
Africa.
-Airpiane May Change This. ---
But the airplane may easily change
all this. If the Atlantic is crossed in
two or three days any member OF rne
crew of an .ahplane having an lnfec-
ton Of yellow fever may easily carry
the disease to where the mosquitoes
are waiting TO. do their part on both
sides of the Atlantic. Yellowssf4
does not reveal itself Immediately
after man is bitten by an infected
mosquito HUI.
uEa The only safety, would lie in q strict
quarantine at; the port of arrival In
Africa or Europe, the crew ana pas
sengers All being detained under witch
until tie period Of incubation has
passed. The other remedy is to clean
NJ South, America of yellow fever as
General Gorgas so strongly urged-.,,-