16
to Dr. Pierez, who takes a great interest in the question, and I enclose herewith a. copy of a memorandum with which he has furnished me on the matter.
2. Such of his recommendations as it is possible to carry out will be acted upon, and those involving any expenditure will be carefully considered.
I have, &c.,
F. FLEMING.
Enclosure in No. 32.
17
but also in other fevers, which are spread through the agency of mosquitoes and flies. I would repeat again the advisability of having a large number of the suggestions printed so that they may be as widely known as possible.
June 17, 1901.
25028
G. E. P.
570
Dr. PIEREZ to HON. COLONIAL SECRETARY, Leeward Islands.
The Honourable
The COLONIAL SECRETARY,
Ir is not easy to make any suggestions on the recommendations contained in the Secretary of State's despatch of 20th April last. It may be of benefit to have the nine suggestions printed in leaflet form, and have them widely circulated, to be fixed in all public buildings, such as libraries, Magistrates' Courts, and Police Offices.
Suggestion A:-
This would apply to all new Colonies and such as are more distinctly malarious than any of these islands--as far as the Leeward Islands are concerned, I should say that the recommendation is almost impracticable.
B:
There is no reason why this should not be carried out, but the question of expense will have to be considered here. This rule would also apply to very unhealthy locali-
C:-
ties.
Í do not know of any special means that can be adopted for the destruction of mosquitoes in rooms, except the burning of dried chrysanthemums, &c. Information of a fuller character might be asked for on this question. I remember that in Ceylon it used to be a common practice to burn a kind of incense in bedrooms every evening, the object of the incense-burning being to drive away mosquitoes. This particular incense is known in Ceylon as Sambarani.
D:-
This recommendation is carried out throughout these islands by all Europeans, and also by others who are able to afford to provide themselves with the necessary protective netting.
E:
I have already dealt with this question, and these nine suggestions might with advantage be placed by the side of the charts.
F:-
This suggestion as a matter of fact is being carried out already by at least two of us in this island. I am not able to speak with regard to the other islands of the group:
G:-
If any practical demonstrations are to be given at any time I have no doubt the Governor or Administrator will take that interest in the matter that is expected of him. For demonstration purposes a good lantern would be necessary, which I sup- pose the Government will provide.
H:
i
I think samples of wire gauze and netting might be asked for from the Crown Agents, with full instructions as to the method of applying the former to windows and doors.
I:-
This suggestion would really come from the authorities in England, previous to officials leaving for the Colonics. I would suggest that a ward capable of holding 20 or 24 patients be fitted out in the hospital here for the reception of malarial cases. This ward might appropriately be called the "Joseph Chamberlain Ward." A couple of bedrooms might also be provided with protective gauze at the quarantine station at Fort James. For not only would these guarded rooms be useful in cases of malaria,
No. 33.
BARBADOS.
GOVERNOR SIR F. M. HODGSON to MR. CHAMBERLAIN.
(No. 118.)
SIR,
(Received July 19, 1901.)
[Acknowledged by 25307 : not printed.]
Government House, Barbados, June 26, 1901.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your circular despatch of the 20th April,* conveying the suggestions which have been made by a Committee recently appointed by you for the purpose of considering what precautions can be taken to prevent the dissemination of malaria by means of mosquitoes, and asking for an expression of my opinion as to their adoption here either wholly or in part.
2. Since my arrival in Barbados, I have been told more than once that malaria finds no place in the Island, and that under the circumstances precautions against the dissemination of malaria by mosquitoes are unnecessary. This is to me surprising, as three miles to the South-East of Bridgetown, which is the direction from which the prevalent winds come, there is a vast marshy area, the temporary home of flocks of migratory birds, which I should say possesses all the requisite elements for breeding malaria as well as the mosquitoes which disseminate it. I find that Dr. Low, who as advised in your despatch, No. 160, of the 20th December last,† is at present in Barbados undertaking research work on filarial diseases for the London School of Tropical Medicine, held the same opinion, as he tells me that he has on more than one) occasion examined the marsh, but has failed to discover the larvæ of anopheles mosquitoes in it.
3. I sent copies of your circular despatch to the Honorary Secretary of the Barbados Branch of the British Medical Association, and to Lieutenant-Colonel Roche, the Senior Officer of the Royal Medical Staff stationed here. The former replies as follows:-
SIR,
Winterton, June 10, 1901, Ar a meeting of the Branch held on the 7th instant, your letter, No. 524, of the 4th instant, together with the enclosures, were read and discussed, and I was directed to inform you, for His Excellency's information, that as Members are unanimously of opinion that Malarial fever does not exist in this Island, except in persons who have contracted it in other Colonies the suggestions" offered by the Committee appointed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies cannot apply to Barbados.
The Branch, however, believes that the suggestions are, in the light of modern research, of great value, and should be carried out as far as practicable in those places where the disease is endemic.
I have, &c.,
E. HOWARD BANNISTER,
Honorary Secretary Barbados Branch British Medical Association. Honourable W. H. Greaves,
Acting Colonial Secretary.
4. Lieutenant-Colonel Roche stated as follows:-"I concur entirely with the nine suggestions made by the Committee in question, and consider that in a Colony in which Malarial Fevers are prevalent these suggestions should, when practicable, be carried out in their entirety.
"Fortunately malarial fevers are not prevalent in Barbados (as far as my experience goes), and I think that the ordinary precautions taken by the people at large are sufficient to meet the case.
"Drainage and cultivation are the two chief causes which prevent the breeding
• No. 11.
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
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