PROPHYLAXIS OP MALARIA. 
Ill 
much should be done as possible, however gloomy the outlook. If 
mosquitoes are very numerous they can be greatly reduced by mos¬ 
quito traps and by detailing men for the purpose of catching the 
insects by hand, as is done in the Canal Zone, where this method 
lias met with really remarkable success. 
It is unnecessary to state that every post in which anophelmes can 
not be eradicated and where malaria prevails should be thoroughly 
screened, and vet the cost of this procedure has prohibited its adop¬ 
tion in some of the most malarious posts occupied by the Army, 
until quite recently. The economy which forced the omission of this 
very important prophylactic measure was in reality an extravagance, 
for the loss of time and money occasioned by the malarial infections 
in the troops was much more costly in the end than the amount in¬ 
volved in the purchase of proper screening material. Barracks, 
quarters, and other buildings should be screened with the best copper 
netting of not less than 16 meshes to the linear inch, and, where the 
yellow-fever mosquito is present, of 18 meshes to the linear inch. 
The use of the mosquito net for the bunk should be rigidly en¬ 
forced unless quarters and barracks are screened, and a nightly in¬ 
spection should be made to see that the men are using the nets 
properly. The head net and gloves should be worn by soldiers on 
duty in the late afternoon and during the night in all posts where 
malaria is prevalent to any extent. 
All shelter for mosquitoes in the post and for a distance of 300 
yards outside the post limits should be reduced to the minimum, and 
the utmost care should be taken that no small breeding places, such 
as are furnished by unused hoppers, rain barrels, tin cans, and small 
pools due to improper drainage, exist in the post. 
The prophylactic use of quinine should be enforced if malaria is 
prevalent enough to warrant it, and daily doses of 0.10 centigrams 
(gr. vi) should be administered under the personal observation of a 
medical officer. In most posts in which malaria occurs this will not 
be found essential in the control of malaria, if “ earners ” be dis¬ 
covered and treated and all acute and recurrent cases of malaria be 
kept in hospital until the plasmodia disappear from the blood under 
quinine and if treatment be continued in the manner already de¬ 
scribed. In the Tropics, however, where the soldiery is continually 
coming in contact with a badly infected native population, the use of 
quinine prophylaxis should be insisted upon during the malarial 
season. 
If natives in whom there is a large percentage of latent infection 
and many “ carriers ” live around the post, it would be an economical 
measure for the Government to issue them free quinine, to be dis¬ 
tributed and administered by a medical officer. In many instances 
this measure alone would practically eliminate malaria from among 
