The Santiago de las Vegas case is a very good illustration of the efficiency of our methods in stamping out a focus. Santiago de las Vegas is practically a suburb of Havana, distant about twelve miles with a considerable non-immune population, constantly having communication with Havana. The infection of 1900 evidently remained over. Some cases occurred in January, some in June and more in July. The cases of July were taken and the houses all gone over, and the mosquitoes killed, but it was evident that the infection had gotten away from us by this method, so on the 24th of July we got a considerable appropriation and started a brigade systematically fumigating, block by block, around the infected areas. With this we were successful and got rid of the focus. This was the most difficult disinfection we have attempted. The infection had evidently got pretty widely spread and new cases kept occurring outside of the area in which we were working. I send you a few papers on the subject. Please return them when you have finished as they form a part of our records on the subject. Please excuse this hurried letter.
Sincerely yours,
W. C. Gorgas,
Major and Surgeon, U. S. A.
Chief Sanitary Officer.
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War Department, Surgeon General’s Office,
Army Medical Museum and Library,
Washington, Jan. 31st.
My dear Gorgas:
Your kind letter of January 22d was received a few days ago. I am very much obliged for the information concerning Santiago de las Vegas. I have made a copy of several of the enclosed papers and return them herewith with many thanks for the opportunity of seeing them. I would like to know in how many cases of y. f. since July 1, 1900, you have omitted disinfection of clothing. How many cases under observation in Havana since that time? There were five deaths I notice after that date and these probably cover say twenty cases. Can you give me the exact number of cases by months for 1900 and 1901? I want to make a curve for these years of cases to accompany my next article to be published in the Journal of Hygiene (English)....
Another thing. Can you possibly obtain from Dr. Guiteras, some eggs of stegomyia and send them to me dried on filter paper? I have no insects nor eggs at present, and am so very anxious to obtain some as soon as possible.
Remember me very kindly to Mrs. Gorgas. With best wishes,
Sincerely yours,
Walter Reed.
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