oi>4 



THE AGiacULTUKAL NEWS, 



X.)\h;.\iBKK l(i. 1918. 



iire malariii — caiisei^ by ih.' carrying ol pathot;eiiic 

 protozoa from the intected subjects to others by virions 

 species of mosquitoes {Anophlcs), ~nnd Jinkylosto- 

 miasis — caused by the preseticcof the hookworm in the 

 intestines of human beings. 



■T 



With regarrl to this letter, it is siirticient to 

 rjemark that it is es-sentiilly a Hlth-borne disease, 

 and that strict attention to personal cleanliness, 

 and to the proper disposal of human excreta, would 

 lead to its extonniiiation. ' That such uieasures, 

 combined with the treatment of" infected persons 

 lire effective, not only for the control, but for the 

 eradication of ankylostomiasis in districts forinerly 

 badly infected, has been amply proved bj work per- 

 formed in this direction under the auspices of the 

 ■ Kockefeller Foundation, not only in 'he TTnited States 

 but in other countries also. 



The .serious loss to agriculture from thV presence 

 of malaria in any given district arises not so riiuch from 

 the actual deaths which result from the disease or 

 its complications, as from the reduced crop returns 

 owing to the loss of the labourer's time, and the 

 reduced etticiency of the labour, owing to the loss 

 of "vitality and energy which follows on recurring 

 attacks of this disease. This; as wis noticed aboye, 

 hintlers the development of 1 irge areas of fertile land. 

 The losses by death occur owing to the lacr^ that the 

 enervating results of malarial .-ittacks pr-.'disposp the 

 subject to other more fatal diseases. 



In H paper read before the Southern .Medical 

 As.sociation at Richmond, Virginia, in November 191 4, 

 Mr. D. L. van Dine, of the Bureau of Entomology, 

 Fnited .States Department of Agriculture, gives some 

 striking fa<!ts on the above points. 



\n estate was selectcil in Louisiana for stmlies in 

 malaria and its conseouences. The estate consisted 

 of i,.SOO acres of cultivated land, and 1,700 acres of 

 swamp lantlin timber. No le.ss than l.yil acres w^re 

 being cidtivated by sev<-nty-four negro tenant-farnler 

 families, giving an average acreage •>f I'i ficres t<i each 

 family. The rital number ijf *he member.^ of *t,h«4se 

 families was 29i), »r an average of four persons to each 

 family. This fact seems to point to another residt of 

 inalari-t, for it is evident from the average family that 

 the pi.pula'ion on that, <'state w-is not increa.sing. 



In th"- crop sniison, Irom May I to Oct'»ber liH, 

 111 1 4 out of the seventy-four families, fort)-ei)^ht were 

 treated by the doctor for loalatiii, and the number of 

 fHyK lost to Avork ainounteil to. 970 of Actual illness, or 



counting the work of an adult woman or a lad between 

 twelve and eighteen years ot age as half that of an 

 adult male, while i.he work of a boy between eight and 

 "fflreWe' years old was reckoned as a quarter, the loss 

 was computed as ii2.5'.5 days of adult men's work. It 

 Was also the opinion of the investig-'tor that there 

 were many cases which were not reported, but were 

 treated with ini.xtures' prepared at home, and' -'by 

 'taking a daj' or fv.o >-ift'.' 



An eti'ori wa,>5 iiu^de to form an 'estimate of the 

 labonr K).ss occurring 'f.-om the numerous cases oi 

 malaria not reported to the doctor. It was computed 

 that, without any error oil -the side; "o{ ie.xaggeration, 

 there were 4S7 days of illness from this cau.se no'j 

 reported, , or 2-')0 7."i days of adult work lost. 



Time is also lost by the adult members of ■■. 

 family in attending those who', are ill. From the 

 record .jf time lost due , to th is cause, it appeared that, 

 ')Ho days, or 2:v'5.") of adult work, were to be included 

 under this head. 



I>uring the crop season tor which the records were 

 kept there were 1,4.57 days of actual illness among 

 members of the tenants families, making a loss of 

 ],.S+2 days, representing l,Oii() days of a<lult labour. 

 There were l(i(i separate attacks among 13x persons 

 out of the total of the 2!)n members of the families. 

 Ivich malarial attack averaged "S'77 days of illness, or 

 ri-42 .lays 'if adult work for each I'.ise of malaria. 



This actuid lo.ssofover a thousand days of 'work 

 , duiing 'he ci-op season is a significant fact in view of 

 the possibility of controlling oi- erarlieating malaria, 

 •md thus making possible a great increase in the 

 available m,in-power for the tlevelopment of the agri- 

 cnltiiral lesoiiiees of the tropics. 



The means of combating this' loss consist of 

 cur.-itive measures during attacks, which may be lef- 

 to the physicians — though it cannot be too widely 

 known that i|uiiiine, in some form, is the antidote to 

 malaria — ami of prophylactic measures, eousisting in 

 destroying th<' Anopheles, chiefly in its larval fljilMn, 

 and in warding oft" the bites of the adult fen\hle 

 in.sect. As regards these projihylactic meSisitres, 

 steps have been taken in most of these Wigs'; 

 Indian islands to do something in this directioti, bin 

 more vigorous efforts are needeii, and more study of 

 local conditions affecting the life-history of any particu- 

 lar species of .\nophele8 re<piiies to be umlertaken, 

 Mr. van Dine jjoints out that the treatment i)f th« 

 ■ liseafle ior long pi riods of tiine^ in malarial ri;gions h.-H 



