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ria to man whereas nowadays it has not the slightest significance as a 

 malaria carrier? The question however coincides with another, often put: Why 

 has malaria disappeared from our country? This question has been ans- 

 wered in very different ways. Disregarding a series of quite fantastic answers I only 

 wish shortly to call attention to the following. 



1. The number of Anophelines has regularly diminished in the course of years. 

 This may be possible but, on the other hand, there is no doubt about the fact that 

 every farm in our country has enough mosquito material to infect its inhabitants. 

 German authors have arrived at a similar result (Martini 1920 4 p. 28). 



2. The improvements in agriculture, especially the extensive drainage works, 

 have dried up the hatching localities of the Anophelines. This may be possible, 

 with regard to our country the answer however may be treated in accordance with 

 1. With regard to Germany Martini (1920 4 p. 22) states: "dass die Veranderungen 

 der Wasserverhaltnisse des Bodens es in erster Linie sind, die uns die Malaria vom 

 Halse verschafft haben". 



3. The quinine treatment of the disease has killed the parasites in man and 

 the Anophelines have had no opportunity of getting parasites and of spreading the 

 contagion (Koch 1899 a. o.). This is unquestionably true; many physicians however 

 maintain that the quinine treatment has indeed weakened the virulence of the dis- 

 ease especially near the northern limits of its area of distribution, but do not think 

 that it can be made responsible for its total disappearance. (Celli, Schoo, Schuff- 

 ner in Ziemann 1918 p. 109). They more especially call attention to the fact that 

 the malaria is the same even in localities, where the farmers use quinine in abun- 

 dance: It may f. i. be pointed out that even in 1918 about 5000 cases were to be 

 found round Emden; (Martini 1920j p. 75). Further that formerly malaria has 

 disappeared from certain areas, and that at a time when quinine treatment was 

 quite unknown. 



4. It has been stated that the improvement of the houses and dwelling rooms 

 has played an essential role in diminishing malaria. In this supposition there is 

 unquestionably some truth. Martini (1920j p. 22) says that formerly: ''Knechte und 

 Magde in Verschlagen an der Diele schliefen, nach der audi die Stalle offenen Aus- 

 gang hatten und die Herrschaft in ahnlichen Verschlagen neben dem Hauptraum 

 des Vorderhauses". Especially "die wundervollen Unterschlupfe, welche diese Schlaf- 

 stellen den Miicken boten und die von Anopheles wimmelten" are significant. Also in 

 our country the houses have been of similar kind. Nowadays as the peasants live 

 in houses of much better construction, as the admittance to the sleeping rooms" is 

 much more difficult for the mosquitoes, and the temperature in the rooms is lower, 

 great outbreaks of malaria epidemics are rendered difficult. Martini (1920 4 p. 22) 

 correctly remarks as follows: "Der Hygieniker verstehl nun auch warum in ganz 

 Deutschland die kleinen Leute die Fenster so angsllich zuhalten, besonders abends 

 und nachts. - - Die alte Volksweisheit die vielleicht alter ist als selbst die Malaria- 

 pandemien des letzten .lahrhunderts weiss, dasz durch die offenen Fenster abends 



