Evening star., 1953-03-20
Form Of yellow Fever
Creeps Toward Mexico
Moyun Priests Predicted
Plague Every 400 Years
BY Thomos R. Henry

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By Thomas R. Henry
Once in approximately each 400
years. Mayan priests predicted. "xekik"
would come IN moving wave cut Of
the south.
Xekik came last, as the Mayan proph-
ecies had indicated, about the time Of
the second voyage of Columbus. and
his followers were struck down BY q
disease which was yellow and saffron
as gold"
It had reached Southern Mexico
three times before. the Mayan records
said. and each time the dead in its path
had been too many to bury. Now ap-
parently it Is on its way once more.
In little more than 20 years 1t has
come, in a series Of explosive jumps.
from the Valley Of Canaan (Valle do
Cannaan) in the Brazilian state Of
Espiritu Santo just north Of Rio to
Central Nicaragua. On the way 1t has
gathered speed and virulence.
The disease is Sylvan yellow fever.
It travels on the feeble wings Of q tiny
pale-blue mosquito which ordinarily can
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the tropical rain forest. BY the time 1t
reaches the old Maya area Of Jungle
Smothered ruined cities In Southern
Mexico 1t may amount to major dis
aster. How much farther north 1t can
progress is questionable question
able, In fact, proposals for Q sanitary
Gordon across the Gulf Coast Of the
United States now are being given
serious consideration.
Same as Yellow Jack.
Sylvan yellow fever is precisely the
same disease as the old yellow JACK"
cause Of some Of the most devastating
epidemics in American history but sup
posedly wiped out in the Western Hem
isphere 40 or more years ago. The only
difference is that it is carried by q
different kind of mosquito.
Col. Norman w. Elton Of the Army
Medical Department, laboratory chief
of the Canal Zone Health Department.
now is able to predict the progress Of
the death wave a little closer than
could the Maya priests. He has estab-
lished that it is moving at speed OF
13 miles month. Before long 1t may
slow up or even stop altogether for a
few months or even years before there
is an explosion" and it starts moving
again faster than ever.
The identity of this Sylvan yellow
fever and the Mayan disease which
was yellow as gold" cannot, Of course.
be established with any certainty, but
they correspond so well in general
symptoms and behavior that Col. Elton
has little doubt about it.
Yellow jack supposedly was conquered
little after the turn of the century
when it was demonstrated through one
of the most dramatic series Of expert
ments in medical history that it was
transmitted from victim to victim by
the bite of the common mosquito, Steg-
omyia or Aedes Aegypti. The demon
stration by DR.. Walter Reed and his
American and Cuban associates made
possible, for one thing, the building of
the Panama Canal.
Easy to Eliminate. -
For Aedes Aegypti was relatively easy
to eliminate. 1t was what Is known as
a homophylic mosquito. It bit only
men. It lived only close to human l1alb-
ttations. It was necessary only to clean
up the possible breeding places-rain
barrels, pools Of stagnant water and
the like-to get rid of the pestilence-
carrying insects. supposedly brought
from Europe. by the way, on Columbus
ships. Their numbers could, at least,
be reduced to the point where they oon-
Stituted no danger. ...7.>-
This was fairly well accomplished
throughout tropical America Quite
large numbers remained, however, in
Argentina and the Southern United
States. Nobody worried about them
because 1t was necessary for them to
come in contact with yellow fever cases
before they could transmit the disease.
The dread epidemics ended. Medical
science rested on its laurels, assured
that it had won a great victory. This
self-satisfaction continued until 1892
and the outbreak in the fateful Vale
do Canaan. People started dying OF
mysterious disease which had all
the characteristics of yellow fever. But
diagnosis of yellow fever was con-
sidered absurd. There could be no vel
low fever without Aedes Aegypti, and
no mosquitoes Of this species had been
known in the area for years.
The best clue was the peculiar sus-
ceptibility Of bridegrooms. Newly mar.
ried men, more than any others, went
into the jungle to establish clearings
as basis for future farms. They
chopped down the tall trees Of the rain
forest. 1t was established that they
were being Stung by species of mos
quito which never would bother any
body in towns. It lives, supposedly
altogether. in the forest canopy $50
or more feet above the earth. It was
found further that a reservoir Of the
true yellow fever virus existed among
the treetop monkeys especially among
the ugly, black howler monkeys whose
numbers from time to time were greatly
diminished by mysterious epidemics.
The blue mosquitoes were spreading
the dread malady from monkey Ito
monkey. When trees were felled the
insects came with them and bit any
humans who happened to be standing
around. This was the major differ
ence between this new yellow fever
which showed such preference for
newlyweds and the old yellow jack
which made no age or sex discrimi-
nations.
Survey Launched.
How widespread was this dread killer
or the treetOpS? Rockefeller Founda.