/ 



8 MOSQUITO ERADICATION 



Has the presence of tuberculosis ever prevented a real estate transaction? 

 I know of a deal involving the purchase of large tract of land for coloniza- 

 tion — a tract valued at about half a million dollars — not consummated 

 on account of the prevalence of malaria in that section, and there was 

 not much malaria either. You have not seen homes abandoned because 

 of either tuberculosis or typhoid fever. I can assure you that I have 

 seen them abandoned on account of malaria." 



MALARIA AS A LABOR PROBLEM 



"It is not going too far," says Hoffman, 1 "to say that malaria 

 eradication is essentially a labor problem of the first importance; 

 that an enormous amount of labor inefficiency due to malaria 

 continues to hinder the progress of semi-tropical and tropical 

 countries, which, if brought under control and completely done 

 away with, must needs assist profoundly in the reclamation of the 

 tropical regions for the practical needs of the world at large." 



An interesting investigation of the losses occasioned by malaria 

 in the cotton-growing section of Louisiana was made by Van 

 Dine of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The work involved 

 a detailed study of the malaria morbidity among 74 tenant 

 families, comprising 299 persons, men, women and children, on a 

 typical plantation. There developed from May to October 

 inclusive 166 cases of malaria in 138 persons, causing a total loss 

 of time of 1,066 adult days or 6.42 adult days per case. This 

 was equivalent to loss of the entire working time of 5.54 families. 

 Reduction of efficiency of the workers amounted to a loss of 

 time of 9.25 families, making a total loss of time of 14.79 families. 

 In other words, 60 families would have done the same amount of 

 work, had there been no malaria, as 74 families did with malaria. 

 Reduced to money, it was found that the actual loss of time 

 amounted to $2,200 and loss of efficiency to $4,300, making 

 a total financial loss due to malaria of $6,500. 



From these figures, it will be noted that a community of less 

 than 300 persons could well have afforded to spend up to $5,000 

 to $6,000 in anti-mosquito work, while an investment of less 

 than $3,500 would have returned a dividend of 100 per cent. 



TRANSMISSION OF YELLOW FEVER 



Although the cause of yellow fever is not definitely known, 

 the infective agent being apparently ultramicroscopic, the manner 



1 "A Plea and A Plan for The Eradication of Malaria," Prudential 

 Insurance Company of America, 1917. 



