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be practicable and efficacious. Your despatch does not refer to the fact, but it will be within your knowledge that this Protectorate is already meeting the cost of Mr. W. F. Fiske's employment, although his investigations have so far been confined to Uganda, where, I understand, the Glossina morsitans, the vector of the sleeping sickness trypanosome of Nyasaland, does not exist.
13. Medical research (paragraph 9).—This matter is deferred for further con- sideration, and I need not refer to it further at the present moment beyond observing that the services of the small staff of Medical Officers we have are fully engaged on the ordinary medical and health duties appertaining to their offices, and that the Medical Department is unprovided with a laboratory or equipment necessary for research work.
I have, &c.,
Enclosure 1 in No. 92.
G. SMITH,
Governor.
MEMORANDUM ON THE PROPOSALS OF the SleepING SICKNESS INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE.
By the Acting Principal Medical Officer.
In dealing with these questions I firstly desire to point out that the Royal Society Commission in Nyasaland consisted of Sir David Bruce and Lady Bruce, two Majors, Royal Army Medical Corps, part of the time Dr. Davey, a very clever Royal Army Medical Corps Sergeant, who did a lot of microscopical work, and an able Royal Army Medical Corps Clerk, who tabulated all returns and kept accounts, &c. We, on the other hand, can only put on one or at the most two Medical Officers and, perhaps, a Sub-Assistant Surgeon. I therefore think it is a great pity the I further wish to points referred to were not settled by the above Commission. point out that the entire medical staff of Nyasaland and all the Medical Officers of Missions with whom I have discussed the matter are in disagreement with the Royal Society Commission as to sleeping sickness being an old disease in Nyasa- land, and in this relation I would specially refer to the opinion of Dr. Murray, an able man, of the Dutch Reformed Mission, who has lived in the area for years. Native evidence as supplied by Sir Alfred Sharpe is quite unreliable, as it is well known that natives will say whatever they think will please the European interrogating them, and, moreover, Sir Alfred's public utterance when in the country, that there were only one or two imported cases of sleeping sickness in the country and no fear of its spreading," would appear to indicate that this was not his opinion when here. I shall merely add that the question is a difficult one, and it ought to be remembered that for years it was stated Glossina morsitans could not carry the disease (whilst here we gave an opposite opinion), and that now it has been proved capable of carrying both T. gambiense and T. rhodesiense.
To proceed with No. 3 of the Secretary of State's despatch :—
To discover whether man is a reservoir of the organism of Nyasaland sleeping sickness it is proposed to inoculate clean experimental animals with the blood of 500 natives from the sleeping sickness area.
I have ascertained that there are 147 guinea-pigs and 10 rabbits available for I think this number will probably prove this, and no doubt they will increase. sufficient as one animal can probably be used for several inoculations. Dr. Davey, who worked with the Commission, has given me his views (attached). He himself does not desire to undertake the work. I have asked Dr. Conran if he is prepared to do it. This would entail postponement of his leave. I have not yet had a reply. In the event of his declining I should suggest Dr. Sanderson undertake it. Sub- Assistant Surgeon Kishan Singh would be detailed to assist, and I think Mahuya should be sent to look after the animals and make himself useful generally (he was with Sir D. Bruce). The experiment would have to take place at Kasu, where there is a laboratory. Moreover, the natives there would probably prove more amenable than elsewhere. Dr. Davey has tabulated his views, and it is quite evident such an experiment would take six months, provided all went smoothly. An increase in the native staff would probably be required.
I should like to propose to His Excellency that the converse experiment be tried. Unfortunately from time to time natives are sentenced to death without
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the hope of reprieve. I suggest that such a condemned criminal be offered his life if he consent to be inoculated with the blood of a game animal infected with the trypanosome said to be T. rhodesiense. I am aware that Dr. Taute inoculated himself in this way, but repeat experiments ought to carry great weight. It seems to me that as the identity of the game trypanosome and T. rhodesiense is in dispute, it is of the greatest importance to settle it.
As to No. 4, I see no reason why this investigation should not go on, though I am completely at a loss to understand why aardvark is mentioned. This is a rare and, I understand, wholly nocturnal animal and, therefore, little likely to be bitten by tsetse. This investigation requires the inoculation of experimental animals, as it is very difficult to find trypanosomes in game by microscopical first-hand observation, therefore it would also have to be undertaken at Kasu and, I suggest, might follow the human experiments. I think the Secretary of State might be advised that Medical Officers have many routine, clinical, and sanitary duties to attend to and could not profitably carry on this investigation.
No. 5. Secretary of State's despatch. Game destruction in a localised area.— This is purely a question of expense. The fence would have to be eight feet high and sufficiently strong. The lower three or four feet would require to be covered with wire netting to prevent the ingress of duyker, Sharpe's antelope, and so on. The area suggested to me by Dr. Hearsey was the peninsula at the S.W. arm of the lake I think the fence here would have to be sixteen or seventeen miles across. Hippo occur here and would have to be reckoned with. Mr. Garden's recommen- dation I think is right, but by this means you cannot with certainty exclude large antelope wandering up; duyker and bush buck, no doubt, still persist there, and klipspringer in the small hills. A fence would be required.
No. 6 Clearing has been consistently recommended here. I suggested to Sir W. Manning that the local natives at Fort Johnston should be made to clear an area all round the township, as fly is undoubtedly coming in. Bush-buck are plentiful and harbour many trypanosomes. Vide Dr. Davey's report, with which
concur.
No. 7. At present this appears to be more a veterinary than a medical question.
No. 8. I suggest His Excellency ask for the services of Mr. Fiske. We, 1 understand, pay him, and should have the benefit of his services here.
We had to pay, unaided, for the Royal Society Commission. Why do we now have to pay for Mr. Fiske in Uganda?
I wish to emphasise that we want this Protectorate entomologically (firstly, tsetse) investigated, and, as His Excellency will understand, Medical Officers have not the time or opportunity for it.
No. 9. Noted.
24th July, 1914.
A. H. BARCLAY.
MEMORANDUM ON THE PROPOSALS OF THE SLEEPING SICKNESS INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE.
By Dr. J. B. Davey.
Paragraph 3. Examination of 500 natives.—I suggest Dowa proclaimed area for this; the work could be done at Kasu and Chunzi, where there are houses, labora- tory, accommodation for animals, &c., and in the dry season Chunzi is practically fly free. I think the Secretary of State has been led to suppose that this work will be more easily accomplished than will prove to be the case. The provision of the required number of susceptible animals is likely to be a difficulty. I do not know whether there is any considerable number of guinea-pigs and white rats at Kasu Laboratory now, but the local supply of monkeys must have been almost depleted by the time the Royal Society Commission left, and the supply of native dogs was running short when I departed in 1912 (September).
I would urge that at least two Medical Officers working together are necessary for this work; it is a great handicap to be single-handed in investigations of this
nature.
If locally obtained animals, such as dogs and monkeys, only are available, the work will take considerably longer, as it is very necessary, in such an investigation, to ensure, by previous observation, that the animals are not already infected. I