WORK FOR MOSQUITOS

Waikato Times, Volume 111, Issue 18640, 19 May 1932, Page 12

WORK FOR MOSQUITOS

TERRIBLE DISEASE CURED. MALARIA-CARRYING INSECT. The malaria-carrying mosquito is being used by doctors to-day, and used successfully, in the treatment of that terrible condition of disease \vhich is known as general paralysis of the insane. The Mayor of Bournemouth, Aiderman Percy M. Bright, described, in a recent speech, the case of a man in a local hospital who was threatened with this condition, which in years gone by had always proved fatal. The doctor who was attending him, however, knew of work which had been done in tropical disease research laboratories in London, and wrote to ask if anything could be done. A woman doctor, said the Mayor, was sent to Bournemouth immediately, and with tier a tiny cage, containing a rare specimen of a malaria-carrying mosquito from Africa. The mosquito’s cage was opened and applied to the leg of the man. lie was bitten, infected with malaria, and cured of his grave illness. “ lie is at work today,” the Mayor said in conolusion. “ Many thousands have s uffered and died from this terrible scourge,” a leading London doctor, 'who has played a great part in developing the new treatment, said recently. “ Until recently practically every case ended in death..

“ But about six years ago a man, whose name would still be unrecognised by the general public, made the discovery that the mental and physical condition of a patient suffering from general paralysis of the insane appeared to improve when lie contracted malaria.”

“ The patient recovered both from the malaria and the parylsis. He published the details of the case, and research workers in the laboratories began investigating along the line he suggested. It was soon established ■ that the high fever brought about by malaria caused a remarkable improvement in the condition of general paralysis of the Insane patients. “ Recently, mosquitoes specially born in Government laboratories have been used with great success. There have been a few failures,»but in the majority of cases general parylsis or the insane lias been conquered by the bite of the mosquito.”