Evening star., 1926-06-20
PAN-AMERICAN HEALTH
EXPERTS TO MEET HERE
Sanitary Bureau Will Further Work of
Stamping Out Disease Without
:, Hampering Trade.

Carlos Finlay Of Havana. one of TIE
spanish delegates, announced his IA
nous theory that mosquitoes were
the carriers Of yellow fever.
Eight years later, when the First
International Conference of American
States assembled here ito promote the
establishment OF free commercial IN
tercOurse," a committee on sanitary
regulations was appointed to study
the subject OF sanitation Of ships and
quarantine and from this, at the
Second International Conference of
American States. a decade later, grew
the international Sanitary Bureau of
the American Republics. which for
the last three years has been known
as the Pan-American Sanitary Bureau
II was at this second international
conference of American States that
cooperative health work in the Amer
lcas got its real start, and saw the
groundwork laid for the ambitious
program that today is carried out
IhlS conference adopted a series OF
resolutions and provided that a gen
eral convention of representatives Of
the health organizations of the Amer
ican republics be called by the gov
erhing board of the international
Union of the American Republics
tnow Pan-American Cnion) to meet in
clude such sanitary agreements as
| they deemed advisable This con
| ference also was to provide for sub
sequent meetings and name an exec
utiVe board which would sit until a
new group was elected at a following
conference.
In December, 1902. the conference
opened here and orga nization was ef
fected. Surg. Gen. Walter Wyman
of the Public Health and Marine Hos
pital Service was named chairman of
| the International Sanitary Bureau,
then, as now, an agency to coordinate
and supervise sanitation activities in
the Americas.
| Six Conferences Since Then.
! Since that date there have been six
/ international sanitary conferences in
! various countries. at each of which
health problems have been taken up
/ deep study made of disease preven-
tion and recommendations formulated
/ for submission to the several coun
tries for Incorporation in treaties such
as that built on the Pan-American
! sanitary code.
The question of stamping out dis
ease, and particularly of preventing
| the spread from one country TO an
other. has been attacked virtually
/ from every conceivable angle. with
! the result that the activities of these
! conferences, growing from year tC
| year. have become almost illimitabie
/ At the last of the conferences in
/ Havana in 1924 even prohibition was
/ gone into. the conferees recommend
| ing TO American governments the i'm
| portance of campaigning against alco-
| holsm through legislation and educa
/ ton.
| Social diseases also have come in for
a large share of attention and promise
/ also to occupy an important place in
| the deliberations of the next interna-
| tional conference scheduled in Lima.
Peru. in 1927.
| Will Go to Lima.
1t is to the Lima conference also
! that whatever recommendations are
decided upon here are expected to be
\ submitted before they are presented
to the various countries for action.
Surg. Gen. Cumming. as director OF
the bureau will be in charge Of the ses
sion here. and his notable list OF asso-
ciates i'll the bureau also will be in at
tendance. These are DR.. Mario G. Le-
bredo, director of Las Animas Hospital
of Havana, honorary director of the
! bureau: DR.. ]. d. Long. assistant sur
SeOn general, HuDIlc hedltn service
| vice director: DR.. Francisco NJ. Fer
nandez, professor of the faculty of
medicine and chairman of the Society
of Clinical Studies of Havana. seCre
| tary, and the following members Of
! the bureau: DR.. Gregorio Araoz Al
faro. president of the National De
partment of Hygiene of Argentine Re
public and professor of the faculty
of medicine of Buenos Aires; DR.. AL
fonso Pruneda, secretary of the Ma
tional Academy of Medicine. Mexico
City; DR.. Raul Almeida Magazines,
secretary general of the Department
/ of Public Health Of Brazil. Rio de
Janeiro and DR.. Carlos E. Paz Soldan
professor of hygiene Of the faculty OF
medicine Of Lima, Peru.