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the men believed that they had contracted leprosy from a suspicious woman. In cases of rape, the one thing that the woman or her relatives fear is the contraction of leprosy. I have often made it a point to ask lepers whether any of their relatives are lepers also, and I have not been able to get one answer in the affirmative. I do not know what bearing this has on the possible methods of infection; but this comparative rarity of multiple infections in a family may be due to the fact that the leper when once suspected is cast away. It must be understood that my statements have reference only to the class of people I see daily, viz., the poor and middle classes. I do not know what the rich families do with their leprous members. I have experience with only one rich family. The head of the house was undoubtedly leprous, but he was not shunned. Of course, this may have been due to the fact that it was a case of nerve leprosy with no disfiguration; also, being the head and support of the home, such blemish must of necessity be overlooked.
Venereal diseases.--The returns of the number of cases of syphilis and gonorrhoea show a slight increase in the amount of syphilis treated this year, but no great difference from the returns of earlier years as indicated in the statement which is included in this report. Since the beginning of 1921, a supply of novarsenobillon has been kept in stock and it is given to all employees of government whenever it is prescribed for them. In 1921, 182 doses were used and in 1922, 141 were prescribed; already in this year, 121 doses have been used. Although a free clinic for the treatment of all who are affected has not been established, yet a considerable amount of free treatment has been provided by government as set forth in these statistics. I do not know of any reason for believing that there has been any increase in the amount of venereal disease in the colony, but, as I remarked in last year's report, it seems almost certain that there is more attention paid to the diagnosis and treatment of it by both the patient and the medical attendant.
Malaria. During the rainy season, there were times when the rainfall was insufficient to scour out the eggs and larvae of mosquitoes from the pools and other collections of water, and to this is to be attributed, in part, at any rate, the prevalence of malaria to a greater degree than is usual. Another effect of alternate periods of rain and drought is that the conditions are not suitable for the natural enemies of the mosquito larvae because the pools do not exist long enough to allow of their being stocked with small fish, newts, and insects which prey on the larvae. Then each batch of immigrants into a malarious region, especially when they come from districts in which malaria occurs, seems to result in a recrudescence of malaria. When the number of immigrants is large, the whole community is liable to feel the effects of it, the prevalence of the disease to be increased, and the infection is less likely to be as confined to children as it is when it exists among a sedentary population which has become immune to a greater or less extent.
The number of cases reported from three of the hospitals which contain the greater portion of cases was 921 and in 1921, 702. The varieties of malaria occur in the proportion of 90-95 per cent
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