“The vegetables from this place are not irrigated with water from the sewers.”
Cholera, a rare visitor to these lands, need not be feared, if you are careful in your diet and drinking water. Green vegetables, berries, melons, and fruits should be avoided in the event of an epidemic and only cooked vegetables eaten.
There is much small-pox, especially in communities where there is a large percentage of Indian population, but this need not be a cause for worry if one is vaccinated. A popular South American hotel, having had many cases of this disease among its patrons, has hanging in each room this sign:—
“Rooms disinfected when guests leave,”
in order to inspire confidence in its new clients. This sign might have as a companion, another one displayed in a leading Latin American hotel, reading:—
“Guests are requested not to spit through the mosquito netting.”
Yellow fever always exists in many of the towns of Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and most of the Mexican and Central American ports. It is due to the bite of a certain species of mosquito. By observing precautions, such as sleeping under a net and staying away from districts known to breed these insects, the chances for contracting this disease are materially minimized.
That bubonic plague is present in many localities cannot be denied. Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Brazil have this disease more than any other countries of South America. It is caused by the bite of a specific flea. Daily baths have a tendency to wash away the germs deposited by this insect.
For the purpose of keeping away fleas, mosquitoes and other pests it is well to apply daily to the exposed portions of the body a solution of equal parts of spirits of camphor and oil of citronella, a pint bottle of which should form part of one’s traveling kit.
Leprosy need not be feared. My experience of several years in one of the largest leprosy hospitals in the world, in a country with many lepers among its inhabitants warrants me in saying positively that the probabilities of a temporary resident contracting this disorder are almost nil.