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2.-Are the Attacks Primary?
It is most important, in my opinion, to find out whether the cases are primary attacks or not.
In other words, how many people who have never had fever have been scized for the first time, and where do they live?
How many have been seized for the first time in the year of the investigatiqn, and where do they live?
Is there a chance of their having got the infection at some other place, and then having come to live in the investigated locality? Somewhere near where these infected people live the anopheles which infected them must be. Probably the adults will be found in their houses and the larvæ near.
In order to investigate this I suggested a little time ago the use of some such form as the attached, Figure XIV., and I believe it is in use.
3. What are the kinds of Anopheles in the District?
Apparatus for collecting mosquitoes has been circulated to different parts of the
Island.
A simple way to collect mosquitoes is the well known plan of collecting them in test tubes plugged at intervals with cotton wool. But the better plan is to send to the district a case such as in Figure XV., which is simply a modification of Dr. Sambon's box.
The mosquitoes caught in test tubes, &c., can be put into the case, and it again into the box, and posted to Colombo where the anopheles can be provisionally named.
4.-Which of the Anopheles contain the Malarial Germ?
If mosquitoes were posted in such a box as the above to Colombo, some of them would arrive alive, and would be able to be dissected for the malarial germ.
5. Where do the Larvæ live?
Specimens of larvæ could be sent from pools near the houses of primary infections in Colombo, and there recognised as to whether they were anopheles larvæ or not.
6. What is the Relationship to the Rainfall?
That would be easily known, as the rainy seasons for the different parts of the Island are known.
See Part II.
7.-Habits and Customs of the People?
PART II-Habits and Customs of the People.
I.—Introductory.
Before studying the best means of prevention of malaria it is very necessary, in my opinion, to have some knowledge of the habits and customs of the people.
The peoples of Ceylon are principally
Europeans
Burghers
Sinhalese
Mohammedans
Tamils
Coolies
These can be divided for the present purpose into three Classes.
Class I.-The Europeans, Burghers, and well-to-do Natives.
Class II.-Middle Class Natives.
Class III.-The poor Classes.
Under these three headings I propose to discuss:-
The Dwellings of the people.
The Habits of the people.
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II.—The Dwellings of the different Peoples.
Class I-These people live in Bungalows of either one storey or two storeys in height (Figures XVI. and XVII.)
These houses are large and airy and healthy and have compounds all round which are kept fairly clean.
So long as the district is not malarious to any marked extent they are very excellent residences, but in malarial districts they have the following objections:-
(1) They are situated on the ground instead of being raised a few feet, but if
properly protected by gauze this objection need not be raised.
(2) They have very small verandahs at the front and back instead of having one
all round.
(3) The waste bath and other water is allowed no free exit, but flows into the
garden and is apt to form pools.
(4) They sometimes have artificial pools in the compounds for keeping swans,
ducks, &c.
(5) They are sometimes built low down near swamps instead of at the top of
hillocks.
(6) They are not fitted with any form of protection against mosquitoes. Class II-The Middle Classes of Natives.-They live in small houses with a small front verandah, and have windows fitted with wooden shutters instead of glass (Figure XVIII.)
These houses are one storey high and are built on the ground; and the floor is covered with cow dung mixed with sand, no bricks or cement being used.
Ventilation is obtained by the
At night the shutters and doors are all closed. means of a space left between the top of the wall and the roof.
In the country these houses have compounds which contain all sorts of things; pools of water, &c.
In the towns the houses are back to back and side by side, and have no compound, and overcrowded, often a whole family in one room.
Class III-The Poor Classes.They live in mud or bamboo huts roofed with cadjan, ie, cocoanut leaves (Vide Figure XIX.) They have no windows and only one door.
III. The Habits of the Different Peoples.
Class I.-These people wear the usual tropical European clothing, live in the dwellings already described.
Hardly any of them, as far as I know, use any protection against mosquitoes except mosquito curtains.
They go about freely at night and are exposed to the action of the mosquitoes, but they do protect themselves while asleep by mosquito netting which can be bought in Colombo and which is of two kinds (Figure XX and XXI.)
Figure XX has far too large a mesh, Figure XXI is suitable; very often mosquito
nets are torn and left in that condition, i.e. are useless.
Class II.These people use no mosquito nets as a rule and do not protect them- selves by any mechanical means against mosquitoes.
Kajhu Nut Shell.-But they fumigate their houses with the fumes of burning kajhu nuts. The method is this; a brazier full of burning kajhu nuts is taken into the room with the windows open and after a little time the windows are closed and the room filled with the fumes, which cannot be said to be very pleasing or very unpleasant. Then another room is fumigated, &c.
It certainly drives all mosquitoes out of the room but does not kill them.
A European however, does not particularly like this form of getting rid of mosquitoes.
Kajhu nut is the nut of the kajhu apple from the tree Anacardium Occiden- tale, Figure XXII. The nut is the lowest portion of the illustration.
Cocoanut.-A second method adopted by the natives to drive out mosquitoes is the burning in a brazier the husks of the cocoanut.
Mathuru Thala Kola (i.d., the leaves of the mosquito plant) are burnt in the rooms (Figure XXIII). This produces a dense smoke very unpleasant, which drives away mosquitoes for the time being.
They place the dried leaves of the plant on their pillows, &c., after having finished the fumigation and believe that the odeur arising therefrom drives away the mosquitoes.
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