SANIDAD T BENEFICENCIA 



rOMHlBITlON TO THE STI IIV l)F THE .MOSnlTÍOES üF THE ISLAM) OF rUBA 



Ocdiíalcd Ici Ihc Hepiínmcnl oí Mcallh nnd Ihaiilies ni the Ke|mlilii: ni tuba 

 By Dr. José H. PAZOS 



Chief Health rtfficer San Antonio de lo^ Baños 



I 

 INTEODUCTION 



The only nation iii the wnrid tlic inileiifiideiice df wluch iiiight be 

 menaoeil hy n ni(iM|UÍto is tlie Keiuililic of Cuba. Accordiug' to the genial 

 phrayeui' Dr. Matías Duque, at ])resent Secvetary of Health aud 

 Cliarities, "every Cuban who i^ iudiffereut to the existeuee of the mos- 

 (|iiit(i uiay lie ("onsidered as a traitor to liis couiitry." 



Ju tíie l'lntt Amenduient, appeuded by the United States to the 

 ('oiistitutioii of ('\iba as a condition of the iiidei)en(h'nec of the Island, 

 Ibere ai'e clausfs \vlii(/h authorize tlic rnilcil States to intervene in 

 case of |iub!i(' or sanitary disorders, and in this comieclioii tlu' eniineut 

 l'^reiicli natnralist Dr. Rafael P>laiichard has reniai-ked, iu his in(uni 

 iiiciilal \v(irl< i. es Mousl¡(|nes (Taris, 1!Ki:)), page •")S4, tliat "it 

 wonld be truly curions aud extraordinai-y if ('u1>a sliouKl sonie day lose 

 bcr iudepeudenee on aecouut of tlie Ste.u'oniyia." 



In view of the foregoiug, it is uot ueeessary lo |ii-ove tbat the 

 externuuation of the mosíiuito, at auy eost, is a niatter of the greatest 

 inii)ortahee to the Cubans. Fortunately, as regards this international 

 obligatiou, there exLsts but one known si)eeies of nios(|ni1oes capable 

 of introdueing in Cuba the "sanitary disorder" referred to, although 

 Mauson affirms that the Stegomyia calopus is not the only speeies 

 of the genus which ean transmit the germ of yellow fever ( Mal adíes 

 des Pay8 Chauds, Paris, 1908^ page 219). 



The test of the efficaey of the sanitary .servioes in Cuba is there- 

 forc, the destruetion of the niosrpiito and eonsequently the prevention 

 of the i)roi)agation of yellow fever. 



The nios(]uito which transmits yellow fever is not fouud in the 

 woods, liut in the towns, where it ean easily be destroyed with soiue 

 labor and patienee, It is necessary for us to realize the importance of 



