Important discoveries relative to the transmission of malaria germs by mosquitos have been announced at Mt. Sinai Hospital here, where an investigation into the causes and developements of the disease has been carried on several months.
According to Dr. Rubenstone, the common Jersey orculex mosquito is not a malaria canrier. It is the anopheles mosquito he says, that transports the malariagerm, which enters the blood through the insect’s bite.
“The stomach of the anopheles mosquito is particularly adapted to the reproduction of malaria germs inside the body of the carrier,” said Dr. Rubenstone. “But the stomach of the Jersey orculez mosquito secretes certain juices which are fatal to the malaria germ, which may be taken into the mosquito’s body from the blood of a person who already has contracted malaria.
“Only the female of the anopheles bites. Since the male does not bite, it cannot be regarded as dangerous. The species anopheles is nocturnal in its habits. It flies low and does not travel more than a few hundred yards from the spot where it breeds, but it may be carried long distances by strong winds.
“The insect’s nocturnal habits, according to the investigators, may account for the peculiarities of malaria infection, which, it is said, occurs virtually only at night.
Infection is most common near stagnant water and the danger of contraction is greater when people sleep on or near the ground than when they sleep in upper stories.
“The physicians report that most mosquitos die in the fall, but that some hibernate in warmed houses, where the danger of malarial infection from their bite is as great as suring the summer.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
