This Day in History (1962): Malaria Teams Spread Larvicide in Province

From the June 13, 1962, edition of The Sun and Flare

Saudi government teams last week began a continuing campaign to kill mosquitoes in the larvae stage to lessen the incidence of malaria in the Eastern Province.

Operating in the Qatif oasis, in the garden areas of Saihat north to al-Awwamiyah, teams of trained workers have been spreading a Paris green larvicide dust in strategic areas, particularly along drainage ditches.

Until now, malaria-transmitting mosquitoes have been controlled by spraying the resting places of adult mosquitoes in homes and stables with Dieldrin or DDT> It is the first time that the Saudi government teams have attempted to attack mosquitoes in their development stage.

Dr. Yousry Ahmad Fateen, director of the Malaria Eradication Project in the Eastern Province since March 1956 has more than 160 local surveillance agents and larvicide spreaders working on the project. His staff consists of two doctors, one in Qatif and another in al-Hasa, a sanitary engineer, and four laboratory technicians.

Each larvicide spreader is in charge of six sections of land, scattering the poisonous powder over one section a day. He repeats this process each week during the propagating seasons in early spring and fall.

Caption for top photo: MALARIA STATISTICS — Dr. Y.A. Fateen, Malarial Eradication Project Director, draws Dr. Robert L. Peffy's attention to the monthly summary kept of the poeople checked by his surveillance teams, the number of fever cases reported, and the number of malaria victims found. Peffy is supervisor of Aramco's Entomology Unit.

Also on this date

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1971 — The New York Times begins publication of the Pentagon Papers

1967 — U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson nominates Thurgood Marshall to become the first black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court

1927 — Aviator Charles Lindbergh receives a ticker-tape parade up Fifth Avenue in New York

1898 — The Yukon Territory is formed, with Dawson chosen as its capital

1886 — A fire devastates much of Vancouver, British Columbia

1774 — Rhode Island becomes the first of Britain's North American colonies to ban the importation of slaves