PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
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mmm C.O.885
19 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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In May I submitted a letter to the Honourable the Colonial Secretary recom- mending the establishment of "mosquito brigades" in the following terms:-
With reference to the subject of malaria prevention and the extermina- tion of mosquitoes, I have the honour to suggest that the chairmen of the several municipalities, local boards, &c., be communicated with, with the object of establishing "mosquito brigades" for the various towns.
The mosquito brigade consists of a head overseer and as many subordi- nates as are necessary for the work; the pay should be generous. It is necessary that the overseer be a man of high character and respectability, and that the whole "brigade" is honest and of good character. Its duty is to go into the compound of every house and collect all broken bottles, tins, broken flower pots, coconut shells, &c., and anything likely to contain water in which mosquitoes can breed; to look for the larvae of mosquitoes in tanks, wells, cisterns, in the ends of bottles placed on dividing walls, &c., and to remove everything that is of no value and deposit it where hollows require filling up.
The "brigade" should, in addition, to the above, empty all small collec- tions of water, by the free use of a broom, and fill up the small hollows with earth or gravel.
Wells should be protected by a mosquito-proof cover with a wire gauze grating for the bucket.
The edges of streams and tanks near or in a town to be kept free from sedges and grass, and all rank vegetation which harbours mosquitoes should be cleared.
In Sierra Leone it was found that a gang of six men with one large mule cart were able to clear fifty houses daily and to remove ten cartloads of broken material and rubbish, i.e., one cartload for every five houses. The medical officer in most of the towns is able to train the brigade as to their duties, and to point out the distinguishing features the culex and anopheles mosquitoes and their larvæ and their likely breeding grounds.
This letter was sent by the Government to the chairman of each local board. Of the 24 replies, I regret to say that only three Colombo, Galle, and Negombo- have promised to take any serious action towards exterminating mosquitoes. The reasons given by the others fall under two heads: (a) the boards do not consider any action necessary, and (b) that no funds are available.
In my report to Government on these replies it was suggested that the exter- mination of the malarial mosquito in towns and villages should be made compulsory by law; subsequently I was directed to frame some draft regulations on the matter, which have been submitted for consideration.
The employment of prisoners where they are available for the carrying out of works for the extermination of the breeding-places of the malarial mosquito has been suggested.
6. (c) Quinine as a Prophylactic.-Apothecaries, headmen, and others have been employed in distributing quinine gratis in all parts of the Island, and large quantities of the drug have been expended. Returns as to the amount expended by each distributor have not been called for on the ground put forward by Professor Ronald Ross that "detailed returns cause much trouble, which will result only in decrease of the issue." No records have been kept as to the incidence of the disease in those undergoing protective treatment by quinine and those who did not take the prophylactic. The compulsory preventive treatment by quinine has been carried out in the schools and jails in malarious districts, with marked success. The sick- rate from malaria has been very low in the prisons, and the regular attendance of children in schools has not been seriously interrupted by outbreaks of malaria among them.
7. The amount of quinine issued for all purposes from the medical stores was 71,456 ounces.
8. Acting on the suggestion of Professor Ronald Ross in his "Report on the Prevention of Malaria in Mauritius," orders were issued for a spleen census to be taken towards the end of 1908.
The subjects examined were the children in schools and young persons and children attending the dispensaries. As this is the first occasion on which such an inquiry has been made here, and some of the observers may not be quite familiar with enlarged spleens, and particularly into what category the enlargement should
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be put, and on account of the few number examined considering the population, some allowance for inaccuracy must be given to the figures and to the deductions drawn from them, but the results give an indication as to the amount of malaria in Ceylon. The total estimated population of children under 15 years of age for the Island at the end of 1908 was 1,622,766; of this number, 92,258 were examined, and enlargement of the spleen was reported to be present in 31,421, a percentage The of 3405 as the "spleen rate." There was no enlargement" in 60,837.
average spleen" works out at 214 for Ceylon children. The statistical errors in the above calculations have not been estimated.
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The accompanying table gives the numbers examined, the total enlarged spleens, the sizes of enlargement, the spleen rate, and average spleen by provinces; and the figures support the observations that have been made for years as to those provinces which have always borne a reputation for a large amount of malaria :--
Enlargement of Spleen.
No.
Province.
Total Examined. Enlargement.
Spleen Rato.
Average
Spleen.
Small,
Medium,
Great,
Northern Southern Eastern
11,371
4,538
2,567
1,194
777
39.91
2.52
15,022
2,847
1,794
600
453
18.95
1.67
6,476
2,266
1,449
572
245
34.99
2.19
North-Western
17,024
9,061
4,675
2,975
1,414
53.25
3.08
North-Central
5,087
3,215
1,491
1,100
624
63.20
3.64
5,177
2,291
1,088
686
517
44.25
2-88
Sabaragamuwa
7,154
2,016
1,049
527
470
28.60
2.18
Central Western
14,362
2,804
1,631
817
356
19-52
1-70
10,585
2,350
1,807
417
66
22.20
1.59
·
Total...
92,258 31,421
17,611
8,888
4,922
34.05
2.29
ALLAN PERRY.
Uva ...
May, 1909.
18262
(No. 72.)
18265
No. 42.
GAMBIA.
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
(Received 31 May, 1909.)
[Answered by No. 58.]
Government House, Bathurst, Gambia, 9th May, 1909.
[Published as No. 12 in Appendix I. to [Cd. 4999], February, 1910.]
(No. 75.)
No. 43.
GAMBIA.
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
(Received 31 May, 1909.)
Government House, Bathurst, Gambia, 12th May, 1909.
[Published as No. 13 in Appendix I. to [Cd. 4999], February, 1910.]
18465
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