Yellow fever : a compilation of various publications: results of the work of Maj. Walter Reed, Medical Corps, United States Army, and the Yellow Fever Commission.
- United States. Congress. Senate.
- Date:
- 1911
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Yellow fever : a compilation of various publications: results of the work of Maj. Walter Reed, Medical Corps, United States Army, and the Yellow Fever Commission. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.
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![Habana, and up to the 1st of November in ions u,„ +i • i mosquito work Dr. Finlay repor^^a^] fro'm m ah na ** °f This mosquito work of the Habana health department I hold demonstrates the practicability of eliminating in tl e TrS the two diseases malaria and yellow fever, and I believe ifThe aZtonof the people at large m our own country were generally aSted to the danger of transmitting disease by the mosqffito, and the. pScabilitv of destroying them, we could very generally eliminaL ?hese ^ diseases from our own country. nt ^d~i°T-t0 th% reaS°n 5)r Writi?£tMs article- 1 thought an account of the relations of mosquitoes to disease, given in simple terms, rea< K understood by those who are not doctors, might held people genera y in making an attempt to get rid of mosquitoes, eacli man about hZ own house I will now proceed to make suggestions in this direction And m order to make myself entirely clear will repeat a good deal' and enlarge upon what I have already said. The work of the Army medical board of which Maj. Walter Reed was president, showing that a particular species of mosquito was the only means of transmitting yellow fever, is now pretty general!v accepted by all the scientific world. Based upon this knowledge certain methods were adopted by the Army medical officers in Habana' Cuba, which resulted m eradicating yellow fever from that city' During the fall of 1903 yellow fever was introduced from Mexico and became quite widely spread through western Texas. It is thought that a few general rules, based upon the knowledge acquired by the Army board and the experience of the Army medical officers in Plabana may be of use m assisting individuals and towns in freeing themselves from infected mosquitoes during the present winter and coming spring. _ Otherwise, it seems highly probable that yellow fever, at some point in Texas, will again develop as the warm weather comes on. This would come about from the fact that the infected mosquito can very readily live through the winter in the latitude of Laredo. As yellow fever can only be spread by a particular species of mos- quito, it follows that if there are none of these mosquitoes about, yellow fever can not spread. The danger in Texas is that the steg- omyia mosquitoes, that have bitten people with yellow fever, will live through the winter and spread another epidemic as the warm weather comes on by biting people who have not had the disease. This mos- quito, from its nature, stays immediately about the house and in the rooms, and seldom or never wanders far. It was found in Habana that by destroying all the mosquitoes in each house where yellow fever occurred the disease was always stopped in that particular neighborhood. It is probable, therefore, that if each householder in whose house yellow fever has occurred during the past fall will destroy all the mosquitoes in his house he will be free from the old infection next spring. This can readily be done by closing the room and making a smudge in it of sulphur or tobacco. Care should be taken to paste all the cracks up with paper, so that the smudge will be confined to the room fumigated, and the pan in which the smudge is made placed on a little earth, so that it can not set the floor on fire. With sulphur, about a pound to a room 10 feet square, should be used, and with tobacco, about half a pound. To start the sulphur burning a couple of tablespoonfuls of alcohol should be poured on before applying the match. Sulphur should be used unless the room](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21355241_0262.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
