Evening star., 1937-01-31

The Worlds Family Doctor
MI Is Is onH Africa

ee@~e-~~
the countries they were going to.
Second step-The worms from the
bodies Of every emigrant were counted.
eogne, It was found, had hArbored very
few, some Q great many. Those with
less than 50 hookworms, It was con.
sidered. were not seriously affected.
Third step-A record was kept and
Q map was marked up showing the
regions whence came ali the emigrants
With the large numbers Of hookworms.
That map. In the course Of time, began
to look dgnificant. All Of the Madras
Presidency, It seemed. was not In.
fected alike. The bad cases always
came from certain regions, compare
lively few In number, limited In area.
Dr.. Heiser looked ct this marked
map with tts dark spots.
TT looks" he said, "as though these
were the hookworm seedbeds Of your
country. Clean them up and believe
you will have the thing under control" !"
The Doctors Job Done.
The fourth step Is Just that. The
job no longer looks hopeless. It will
cost . comparatively small amount.
The foundations work Is finished. DR..
Heiser has stepped out, leaving the
Madras Presidency In . good position
to settle It's own difficulties. d.
When Leonard Wood became Gov-
ernor General Of the Philippines, 3o,-
600 people were dying Of malaria In
the islands every year. This stagger-
Ing malarial death rate was . large
thorne In the side Of the general.
Malaria had been wiped out In Pam
ANA. Why should 1t be allowed to 60
On Gripping the Philippines7 Send
for DR.. HeiserI
Victor Heiser ehuckles today over
that visit. The general was primed
with optimism, sure the worlds fam
lily doctor would settle this business
presto. But Heiser began by saying
datly that he hadn't the least idea
how to 60 about getting malaria out
Of the Philippines.
But look here" said Gen. Wood
II can get you . million dollars for
this Job. Surely you ought to be able
to do something with . million dol
Ars."
Throwing Money Away.
Begin with the swamps, man.
Drain them out. Everybody knows
malaria germs are carried by mosqui-
toes. and mosquitoes breed In
swamps."
1T sounds reasonable. general. But
maybe these particular mosquitoes
breed in swamps and maybe they
don't. Mosquitoes have funny ways
They don't always do what you ex.
pect"
DO you mean to say that we can't
do here what has elready been done
in Panama? What good are you SCI
entists, anyway"
MY dear general, Panama was an
entirely different matter. There We
had to sanitate . few square miles
Here there are q hundred thousand
square miles, and the people are scat
tered among three hundred islands
Your million dollars would be . drop
In Q bucket"
The upshot Of 1t was that the Foun.
dation Joined the Philippine govern
ment In making . thorough survey
This took i've years. It was hardly
finished at the time Of Gen. Wood's
death In 1927. Not until then was the
problem Of cleaning malaria out OF
the Philippines ever defined.
The survey did show that draining
the swamps would have been useless
The malaria carrier In the Philippines
Is q mosquito classified as Anopheles
minimus. It does not breed II
swamps: 1t breeds in clear, swift-run-
ming water. In the Philippines the
breeding grounds are chiefly springs
or weeping" hillsides or other out
crops Of water.
A beginning has been made, but
they are still ut it. DR.. Heiser Il
again cooperating with the govern
ment to work out cheap methods o1
control.
DR.. Heiser, as q matter Of fact, had
An advantage in the Philippines. II
was here that he originally got the
training that fitted him to be the
worlds family doctor. In 1905, age
-, vigorous. tennis-piaying, athletic
J he was appointed director Of health
In the Islands. He stayed there until
he joined the Rockefeller Foundation
in 1914. Strenuous Is the word fos
: those nine years. q
Victims 4 smallpox.
What were the conditions that faced
him in the islands? Forty thousand
people . year were dying Of smallpox
There were $4,000 cases of cholerl
the year he took his job-60 per cent
OF the population came down with It
Six thousand lepers were loose. roam
ing anywhere. Buhonic plague, beri.
beri, amoebic dysentery, tuberculosil
took their thousands. It would have
) been hard to find . well person in the
entire population. Sanitary condition.
were unspeakable. There was not Z
sewer or . driven well anywhere. Prac.
tically everybody drank polluted water
And knowing no other way Of living
the majority Of them were bitterly
hostile to change. A health ofncel
was an object of suspicion, hatred
fear. He was not welcome: he wa,
more likely to be shot at.
Victor Heiser's middle initial Is q
but his middle name ought to be Dip.
lomacy. II there Is one thing HI
never does, 1t is to 60 barging into {
situation like . bull in . china shop
full Of preconceived notions and high
handed methods. He starts out with
the idea that everybody, however pool
and ignorant. wants to be well-tha'
the more intelligent part Of any popu-
lation will work with him in . health
} program once they are shown the way
BY nature he Is co-operator, not
} bureaucrat. :,
This, incidentally, Is one Of thu
chief reasons, imagine, why thu
Rockefeller Foundation grabbed him
Their notion was to 60 only where
they were invited, to help govern
ments build up health agencies and
sanitary commissions Of their own
1