180 EDITORIAL. 



:i new strain of cholera organisms was introduced in 1902. The out- 

 break in 1905, which began in the latter part of August at Jala-Jala (see 

 Map 1 of the paper: "Some consideration with regard to the cause of the 

 frequent reappearance of cholera in the Philippine Islands) was preceded 

 by three nonfatal cases of cholera at Tililla, about 15 miles away. 

 In a barrio of Taguig there had been an epidemic of diarrhoea in June in 

 which the patients showed all the symptoms of cholera, but in which 

 there was no mortality, and time after time I have been told of similar 

 outbreaks. It is a fact that simultaneously with the ripening of the rice 

 crop many cases occur which show symptoms of diarrhoea and sometimes 

 even of cholera, but I do not think we can attribute the disease to the 

 breeding of cholera organisms in this medium, as the water is turned off 

 of the paddies some time before the rice is cut, and the latter is cut dry. 



The lower classes of natives in the provinces are very improvident, 

 they live on short rations for about a month just before the new rice is 

 harvested, and after that time, gorge themselves and have a fiesta in 

 honor of the recent crop, and diarrhoeas are frequent at such times. It 

 may be that new rice is not as digestible as old. 



Dr. Hciser, Bureau of Health : I was very much interested in what 

 Colonel Maus said about cholera, in that it brought out many of the 

 difficulties with which we had to contend. 



It is generally believed that the outbreak of cholera in 1903 was more 

 severe than that of 1905, while the fact is, which is not generally known, 

 that during the first three weeks, of the outbreak in 1905 we actually had 

 more cholera than during the same period in the outbreak of 1902. 



One other point is that it has been learned from practical experience 

 that if any community has suffered any cholera within eighteen months, 

 an outbreak there is never so severe as where it has been absent for a 

 longer period. To illustrate this point, we have an outbreak at present 

 in Zambales Province, which has not suffered from cholera for nearly 

 three years, so that the disease may be considered to be epidemic in that 

 province, and the mortality rate is high, while in other provinces which 

 have had cholera during the last eighteen months, the disease is not so 

 severe and the mortality is lower. 



It is well known that green rice produces a great number of cases of 

 gastro-mtestinal disease, resembling cholera, throughout the Islands. In 

 the rice-harvesting season there are many deaths of this kind. We 

 can not say whether these are due to cholera or not, but it is certainly 

 true that green rice produces cholera-like symptoms. I think the fact 

 brought out by Dr. Clements that the rice field is dry at the time of 

 harvest has certainly made it appear impossible that the cholera organism 

 is propagated in the rice paddies. There is a preparation made from 

 the new rice called calamay. It is very attractive to flies, and if there 

 happens to be any cholera in the neighborhood, it is conceivable that this 



