Evening star., 1928-09-11

The city of Athens. Greece, was Of
ficially reported in 1920 as having q
population of 292 1891. According te
Associated Press cables. there are today
some 250.0O0 of that population stricken
with dengue fever Among the victims
is Premier Venizelcs. who. only Within
the last fortnight. has regained power
as actual ruler of the country.
| Greece is a long distance from AMI
| jca and It would be easy to assure oui
| selves. therefore, that there is no danger
of the epidemic 80 spreading as to in
wade this country Yet there are many
! ships and many cargoeS coming from
the Mediterranean to our ports and II
one of them carried a single stowaWay
MOSQUITO OF the right species and va
rietv. that insect might spread an cpl
demic even here which would rival the
! Snanish "fu" of 1919 or the bubonic
plague which once threatened to de-
populate Europe.
It is long voyage. also. from Brazil
/ to England. and great care is necessary
/ to guard against the importation INTO
England from Brazil Of infected rats
which carry f1eas, which convey the ou-
bonic plague. A few days ago: at LlV-
erpool. a ship which had sailed from
Rosario. Brazil. was fumigated as Gus
7
nermitted to land. After the disinfect-
| ing seven dead infected rats were dis
covered. which might have communi-
Gated the infection to native rats AND
started terrible plague upon the ls'ano
II is not at all impossible for dengue
fever to he prevalent in the Unlteo
States. At Austin. Tex. IN 1889 i
attacked 5000 persons IN population
of @, 600. At Galveston. In 1897 hall
the people were afflicted, and in 1922
in Monroe. La. a quarter of the pop,l-
lation was stricken. There were l.Oot
cases before the local physicians kne"
Of it's existence.
Deneue is spread by the same mos
quito as carries yellow fever, and 1t Is
often confused with yellow fever. II
is nicknamed "breakbone fever oW'
ing to the fact that the patient feels
as If some tormentor were hammerlne
his limbs with an instrument and MT
ting hard enough to break his bones
1t may come suddenly within two
davs after infection. or 1t may MOI
.omnete incubation for two weeks. Dur
ing the early stages. the patients face
becomes swollen and inflamed. AS II ne
had been on an alcoholic debauch
His back and loins and all Joints are
severely attacked with pain. One emil
nent scientist says: These pains, to-
cether with the mental depression dur
ing convalescence. have caused the dis
ease to be called the sum total OF hu-
man misery vet It Is usually not sc
fatal as yellow fever and certain other
epidemics which have afflicted the
world. After complications are serious
but one attack usually leaves the pa
tient immune to a repetition for a few
years.
Usually h.u. of cleanliness. together
with sanitary environment. are consld-
cred as preventing dengue fever. but
this Is by no means assured. In our
own South creoles and negroes are SAID
to be almost free from it, but when II
attacks community it usually pros
trates nearly the total white population
Where there are no mosquitoes OF the
species "Acdes Aegypti," there is nc
spread of dengue This has been dem
onstrated In Alabama and in the West
Indies and elsewhere. But the female
of the species is more deadly than
other females. for she attacks ankles
faces and hands. and persists in buzZing
around the ears She is difficult to
catch The only safe method of deal
ing with her is to destroy the eggs be-
fore they are Matched. The infec-
ton is found in dogs. cats, live stock
mice and birds.
While yellow fever and dengue are
diseases of warm climates. both have
made their ways up to Philadelphia
and even to New England and Quebec
but their spreading is stopped by frost
Behold how great matter a little
flea createth! Az many ports the quar-
antine officials make surveys to catch
the fieas and count the average mum
ber per rat. One Checpis flea per rat
indicates danger Of an epidemic, for