HAVANA (1901-1902) 



283 



Walter Myers, the two Commissioners, had both 

 of them been attacked by the disease, and Dr 

 Myers had died of it. The report gives evidence 

 that the disease is due to a bacillus which is not 

 the bacillus icteroides; and it does not wholly 

 favour the earlier report (1900) of the American 

 Commission. A later Commission to New Orleans, 

 September 1901 to January 1902, has reported an 

 extensive series of investigations, which seem 

 rather to support the belief that the bacilhts 

 icteroides is the cause of the disease. 



Immunisation, by the direct use of an infected 

 mosquito, may be compared with the old custom 

 of inoculation against smallpox. The use of 

 Sanarelli's serum-treatment has not gone far. 

 There remains for consideration the method of 

 keeping down infection by keeping down Ctilex. 



Three reports, in 1 901 -1902, come from Dr 

 Guiteras (Havana), Surgeon- Major Gorgas, chief 

 sanitary officer (Havana), and the Commission at 

 New Orleans. Dr Guiteras reports that 6 cases 

 of yellow fever (inoculation) were treated in a 

 large " mosquito-proof " building, which also con- 

 tained cases of other diseases. No prophylaxis 

 was enforced, save the exclusion of mosquitoes ; 

 non-immunes visited the yellow fever cases, non- 

 immunes nursed them, and most of the attendants 

 and labourers about the place were non-immunes ; 

 but not a single case of infection occurred. The 



