Evening Star Newspaper, May 9, 1937, Page 62

F—>» GERM OF MALARIA YIELDS TO SCIENCE Funds Freed in Fight on De- pression Used in Curb- ing Disease. Note—This is the twelfth and Anal article in a series describing the thrilling and far-reaching work of the “G-men of science” in the National Institute of Health, who are conducting profound and peril- ous studies toward the prevention and control of disease and laying plans for the world-wide warfare against bacteriological forces which shorten and destroy human life, By Lucy Salamanca. CIENCE is coming out victor in its fight against the death-deal- ing mosquito. Yellow fever is under the heel of science; ma- laria is on the way to virtual elimina- tion, and, not content with such triumphs, science has turned the ta- bles on this insect pest and set it to serving humankind. As a result, melaria has been made to arrest com- pletely at least one-third of selected cases of paresis, and has rendered the rest of the treated cases so amenable that they are no longer problems in hospitalization. The historic “‘depression” aided and ebetted our scientific G-men in their at its lowest ebb and in the dead of Winter the infection rate among those 150,000 school ohildren was found to be 6 per cent! By 193¢ the uptrend had started again in malaria charts, and the dis- ease was found to be as prevalent as it had been in 1912. In peak years the thick blood tests taken in the South and examined in the National Institute of Health show the rate of infection to be as high as from 40 to 60 per cent and about 6 per cent in rnon-peak years. In Psnama the ratio i8 40 to 50 per cent in peak years and from 18 to 20 per cent in non-peak years, which is proof of the fact that the malaria parasites are in the blood more generally in this coun- try throughout the year. THE SUNDAY STAR, ‘The parasite which causes malaria differs from the type of organism that produces such infectious diseases as tuberculosis, for example, or tetanus, in that it is & tiny parasitic animal and not a form of bacteria. EVERY specie of mosquito has dif- ferent breeding requirements, Some want acid, brackish or aerated water. SBome want pools. Some want streains for breeding. But the quad, which is the carrier of the malaria parasite, is a pond breeder. Since these facts have been ascertained with respect to the life habit of the mosquito, much expense has been spared in treating waters which would not breed the quad anyway. Work is now concentrated on treating ponds. A larvicide 15 sometimes used by the nhmHny oil that has a good olly amell, such as kerosene, gasoline or fuel ofl, or pyrethum extract, which is made from Asiatic daisies. When ponds are sprayed with an emulsion of this the larvae of the quad are killed. In 1921 Dr. A. M. Barber discovered the use of paris green as a destructive agent in the malaria fight. The cost of treating ponds is cut about in half by the use of insecticide, which has made it possible to spread control work in areas that could not afford it before this discovery. While malaria was at its peak this last year, convicts wers put to work, with 130,000 lgboring in 16 States. In the last four years they have cut WASHINGTON, D. C, MAY 9, about 40,000 miles of anti-malaria ditches. The United States Public Bervice has suggested a program, which States sre adopting, in an effort to rid this country completely of the disease. “It is & disease,” says Dr. Willlams, “s0 we need a physician. It is car- ried by a mosquito, 50 we need an entomologist. It involves engineering 80 we need a sanitary engineer. We also need laboratory technicians to examine and report on the slides of the blood tests. Two laboratory technicians cover about 25,000 slides & year, or from 5 to 7 counties. They give the medical man the ‘positive,’ and by locating houses where the in- fected individuals live he can locate the heavy foci of infection. When the doctor has spotted the cases, lo- 1937—PART FOUR. cated the fool, the sntomologist locates the waters in the region and charts those that produce larvae. Then the engineer dams them up, plans drain- age, noommm.u larvicides or screen- (US have the scientific G-men in Washington passed on to oounty health departments s concrete plan for the protection of the public in the spread of this disease. They are now attempting to gain knowledge that will give them biologic control of the pest that carries the parasite to man. It 18 at the State Hospital for the Insane at Columbia, 8. C., that men of science of the United States Public Health Bervice have shown greatest ingenuity in making the mosquito | spirochete germ of the paretic, there serve instead of tnjure mankind. Here, under Dr. Bruce Mayne, malaria mosquitoes are raised to-be used in the treatment of paresis. Malaria has been found to be more effective than artificial fever in fighting the spirochetic germ which causes paresis Dr. Mayne raises the quad and | infects the insect by feeding it upon a paretic patient. At first he shipped these infected mosquitoes about the country in iceboxes, tnen he devised | & blood-dextrose medium that the parasite will live in. He anesthetizes | the mosquito and dissects it, taking | out its sallvary glands, which he | grinds up. This produces a culture which 1s infective far 26 days. Since mosquitoes cannot be infected with the is no danger of transmitting the disease of the paretic patient to whome ever is inoculated with the malaria eulture. However, as there are still two or three types of minor bacteria present in the culture, the cautious G-men who guard our health under the bene ner of the United States Public Health Service and the laboratories of the National Health Institite where such cultures are tested will not permip use of this treatment for paresis. It is used, however, in hospitals, by competent physicians, under econdie tions imposed by the scientific watch= dogs of Uncle Sam. And they are now at work on ways and means of sterilizing either the mosquito used or the culture, THE HUB’S LEADER 3-PIECE THAT DEMON! I'RATE SHIP! 2-PC. ENGLISH LOUNGE SUITE NO MONEY DOWN! MODERN BEDROOM Dr. L. L. Williams, Jr. fight against malaria, for it released funds tr.rough relief and other emer- gency Government agencies that en- ebl: the doctors, the sanitary en- giueers and the laboratory technicians of the United States Public Health | Service and the National Institute of | Health to dig ditches, drain swamps, | A1l in ponds, set up laboratories and | study slides all over that section of our country—the sunny Southland— | where the malaria mosquito has buzzed | disastrously for many years, reducing | the industrial value of its citizens to & minimum, and otherwise playing havoc with the health of the people and economics of the community, for | where maleria germs abound in the | blood the individual loses one-third of his normal efficiency. The result | of this lingering drain upon the vital- | ity of its citizens has cost the South, in peak years of malaria epidemics, about one-half billion dollars annually. Only a few weeks ago the last mys- ferious link in this wer against ma- laria was sought when an expedition ®et out from the Public Health Service for Savannah, Gs., for field research on one type of mosquito that has proved the st pernicious little erim- inal of them dll—the specie known to science as ‘“‘Anopheles quadrimacu- latus”—"quad” for short. Out of nine types of mosquitoes found to infest ‘various areas, eight have been brought, in a measure, under ocontrol, their individual breeding preferences and other peculiarities serving as the clue to conquest. This ninth individual, | however, has proved tenacious of life, | and science is concentrating now upon its extermination. ;, A GREAT deal has been accom- | plished by the relentless health | sleuths of the Government, and thou- | #ands of slides of school children in | various areas have been examined | and recorded by the National Insti- tute of Health as an aid in the pro- gram. A plan for clearing swamp lands and digging ditches, for eon- trol work, for testing residents for | ; i i i in wh 2 deal ket Chair wih § M 99 Ppreee 1 ite i Gibson Island Chi 99 lce Refrigerator Deck Chair. Built for Cabinet Base in white Lawn Mower. An ef. @5 Utility Cabinet, icecl § 98 Cric d uu: bkwdm:n(;f mxx::::?mu; ww:\m ioc’w:-y, Cs‘o;; 81 that is heavily in- s 95 comfort. Coversd in 98e enamel fimish. Very 8 95 ficient mochine that $ i size with lots of space. ¥ solid maple frome up & shtuation that has long men- seat ond bock sulated. Plenty of heavy convos in gay roomy. is fully guaronteed. Several eolors. Podded seat and back aced public health has been sub- mitted to all States where this malady takes annual toll. As a result, out of 16 BStates where malaria is a problem it has been found to be of major menace in 13. Of these 13, financing has been secured for 7 and | projected in 2 more, and in 4 more | # i& projected or programs have been adopted in part. Dr. Louis L. Williams of the United States Public | Health Service is in charge of malaria | control work, with much of the laboratory work done by the National Institute of Health. To understand ‘just what science has accomplished in combating this soourge of men, we must realize something of the magnitude of the problem that first became evident in 1882. In that period all ovet the United States, except in the moun- tainous regions, malaria was a drain upon the vitality of citizens and took Hts toll of lives and health. With that fascinating inevitability that marks the rise and fall of disease, there was a decline in the appearance of malaria, until in 1912 it account- s'qd'd You'il like the strikingly smart modern lines and the beautifully matched walnut veneers pieces feature dustproof construction and center drawer quides. Substan- tially built to assure years of hard wear. Includes chest, bed and choice of dres- ser or vanity. storoge spoce. Easy Credit Terms! All * Summer eolors. ed for dark areas only in the Southern section of the United States, particu- larly around the Guif of Mexico and slong & narrow strip in the South- ‘west. Dr. Williams has an explanation for the diseppearance of malaria from other regions of the United States. Me points out that with the first clearing of the lands throughout all those regions where 1t offered possi- bilities for farming, the vall native timber of the forests was cut down, &8 man made way for tilling flelds, “Mosquitoes require four things to survive,” explained Dr. Williams, “quiet water, floatage, sunshine and shade. When men cut down the trees they created ideal conditions for mos- quitoes. There was floatage upon the water of the swamp lands, and the fallen timber created shade and permitted sunlight also to seep through. There was & great increase in the numbers of mosquitoes bred in these native awamps, and it was not until drainage of the land be- roomy, deep seat, | 2 . 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