MOSQUITOES AND MALARIA.

Golden Bay Argus, Volume VII, Issue 69, 26 September 1901, Page 3

MOSQUITOES AND MALARIA.

Carriers of the Deadly Diseaoe. The white man has never had much good to say about the mosquito, and the result of recent investigations has been to show that that aggressive and bloodthirsty insect has had too little, rather than too nvucli, said against him. Millions of human beings can bear witness to the disagreeable nature of his attentions; but it has now been proved that his attentions are more than disagreeable—they are absolutely dangerous. It has been discovered, in short, that the mosquito is a carrier of the deadly malaria, and that malarial fever is directly attributable to mosquito bite. But though scientists have been convinced of this for some time past, the general public at home and abroad have not yet had the matter brought before them in such a way as to make them realise the full significance of the discovery. In order that this may now be done, an interesting experiment is to be made next summer on the Roman Campagna, that swampy, malaria-infested area in the outskirts of Rome. While Rome itself is a healthy enough city, the Campagna has the reputation of being one of the most unhealthy spots upon earth. Its inhabitants are few, and these chiefly Italians of the lowest type. Owing to the prevalence of malaria among them the death-rate is exceedingly high, and as the mosquito flourishes in the Campagna to a remarkable extent, it was thought that here, within easy reach of civilisation, were to be found all the conditions essential to make a satisfactory experiment. At one of the most unhealthy parts of the Campagna, and within little more than half an hours journey by rail from Rome, two medical men, Drs. Louis Sambon and G. C. Low (l)oth attached to the School of Tropical Medicine), are to live during the whole of next summer —that is from June to October, the time when the malarial fever is at its worst. They will live in a speciallyconstructed wooden house, fitted up with double casements and doors, mosquito-proof netting, curtains, etc., etc. Under ordinary circumstances a single night spent upon the Campagna at that time of the year usually brings on an attack of fever, but, owing to the precautions they are taking against being bitten by mosquitoes, Drs. Low and Sambon are confident that they will bo able to live there with impunity till the autumn, and thus prove the truth of the theory in regard to the connection between the mosquito and malaria. During the daytime, when the mosquito lies low, the two doctors will be free to go about in the open and pursue their scientific work. The experiment is being carried out under the auspices of the Colonial Otlice, which has shown a particularly keen interest in the attempts made of late years to unravel the mysteries of malaria. Should the experiment be brought to a successful issue, strenuous efforts will doubtless be made to bring the knowledge so acquired into widespread practical use. At present the mortality among white men who live in the malarial regions is terribly high. The West Coast of Africa, for example, has a particularly evil reputation on that account. But when once it is proved conclusively that by taking certain precautions the white man may live in malarial districts without taking malarial fever, we may look forward confidently to vast improvements being made upon the health conditions of the various malaria-stricken parts of the world. By the erection of specially-constructed dwellings, by the filling up (especially in the immediate neighbourhood of settlements) of the little stagnant pools in which the larva; of the mosquito have their abode, and by other means, life in the tropics and subtropics will soon, it is to be hoped, be attended by much less risk to the white man's health than is at present unhappily the case. And certainly Britain with her great possessions in malarial regions has the sti'onges.t possible reasons for being interested in whatever makes for the prevention or cure of a dreadful disease.