PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
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23 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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this head; but the Professor of Public Health and Bacteriology at the University (Professor Dr. Savas) informed me that he could easily undertake to give a course of instruction (in Greek) lasting two months in the year and commencing during the summer mouths, at a cost of about £1 a week (the rate paid in Liverpool). I am fully acquainted with the work of Dr. Savas, who is President of the Grecian Anti-malaria League. Much parasite- logical work is now being done in Greece, and I think that students from Cyprus can well be trained there at much less expense than if they proceeded to England or France. Later on, schools may also be started in India and Egypt, and it may be worth enquiring whether Cyprian students may not work at these. The details can best be arranged by the Medical Department.
(9) It will be advisable to consolidate and amend the various Acts referring to public health in Cyprus (Appendix III.), but this will require legal advice, and the amendments can scarcely be profitably suggested by me. I am not in favour of trying to force the public to do their own anti-mosquito work. In fact, such attempts usually fail, except to a small extent. In Cyprus most of the breeding probably takes place outside private premises. and should therefore be checked by local authorities and not by the householders The case is different inside the municipalities, where powers have to be taken for controlling cesspits, &c. On the whole, I think that Government should have complete powers of entry and of fine for mosquito breeding, to be used if necessary; but it would perhaps be better to wait before amend- ing the laws until the proposed organization has been in force for a year or two. It is useless to cause irritation needlessly.
(10) This item in Section 13 should be considered along with I heard several complaints (whether well the previous item. founded or not I cannot say) of municipal sanitary management in Cyprus. As a matter of fact, small municipalities seldom possess enough funds or skilled advice to conduct their sanitary duties efficiently. Indeed, in my opinion. British administration has made rather a general error in giving local self-government too readily to what are in reality nothing but villages. This sounds very well for political purposes, but is too often injurious to the welfare of the people, whose sanitary needs are frequently I make no charge neglected in favour of more showy schemes. against the municipalities of Cyprus, but think that powers should be taken to control their sanitary administration in case of default. Such power would of itself have the effect of keeping their attention fixed upon this important part of the duties entrusted to them.
16. Miscellaneous Suggestions.-The conduct of future opera tions against malaria can be left with confidence to the Medical Department of Cyprus. I may, however, be perhaps allowed to make a few small suggestions.
(1) At first the operations can be commenced most actively in the most malarious villages and also in the largest of the
• The per capita expense of sanitation is generally much greater for small than for large populations.
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malarious ones. Obviously, money spent in such will affect a larger number of people than the same money spent in small Another claim for speedy or in only slightly malarious areas. action is the facility with which local conditions can be dealt with.
(2) Quinine distribution should be pushed with the greatest vigour amongst school children, especially those with enlarged spleen; and it may be useful to encourage school masters to give the drug and also to show them how to do it. It was suggested to me that quinine can also be distributed by mudirs, mukhtars, tithe superintendents, tax collectors, police, and the priests and schoolmasters of the villages, besides the Medical Officers, the Sanitary Inspectors and the dispensers, but I do not know how far all these suggestions will be found to be practicable.
(3) The tracts on malaria prevention for the public can be Chapter 2 of issued again with advantage to all the schools.
my book on The Prevention of Malaria" has been specially written for this purpose; I do not know whether it would be worth while translating it into Greek. The Greek Anti-malaria League also issues many pamphlets, and perhaps the Medical Department would like to obtain copies of these from the President of the League, Professor Dr. Savas, Laboratoire D'Iygiene," Université, Athens.
(4) Arrangements might be made for distributing gold-fish, with printed directions in Greek and Turkish, to all owners of irrigation cisterns.
(5) Considerable difficulty is likely to be experienced with the wells, and these should be carefully examined in July and August for larvae, with a view to finding the best way of destroying the insects in them.
(6) During the whole of my tour I saw only three large waters
These to the Island. danger which will be
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were
the deep lake to the west of Famagusta, the marsh to the west of Limassol, and the marsh close to Syrianochorio. The first is below sea-level and cannot be drained or filled up. Even to cut the weeds round the margin and deepen the edges would be a very expensive work. I doubt, however, whether this lake really influences the malaria-rate in Famagusta or Varosia, because the peasants living to the west of the town, who would be first visited by mosquitoes from the lake, do not appear to be I do not advise any suffering particularly from malaria. measures at all being taken for this lake until it has been con- clusively shown that malaria remains in Famagusta in spite of a careful mosquito-reduction policy in the moat, the gardens, In fact, I suspect that the disease and all through the town area.
in Famagusta is due, not to the lakes, but to small waters and wells in the town itself.
The marsh to the west of Limassol is, I think, near enough to influence the town, and the Public Works Department might be asked to prepare a scheme for dealing with it by some of the known methods to a distance of a mile to the weet of its eastern margin. It might be drained, deepened, converted into a lake, or planted with trees. This will be a matter for future con. sideration; but in the meantime the escape from the Limassol waterworks should be dealt with promptly.
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