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No. 49.

MINUTES OF THE SECOND ORDINARY MEETING OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE TROPICAL DISEASES RESEARCH FUND, HELD AT THE COLONIAL OFFICE, AT 4.30 P.M., ON THE 29TH NOVEMBER, 1912.

PRESENT

:

Sir J. WEST RIDGEWAY (in the Chair). Surgeon-General Sir A. BRANFOOT.

Sir JOHN ROSE BRADFORD.

Mr. DRAKE.

Mr. READ.

Sir RONALD Ross.

Mr. TILLEY.

Mr. KEITH (Secretary).

1. The Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the 31st July* were approved. 2. The Reports of the London and Liverpool Schools of Tropical Medicine for the period to the 31st October, 1912,† were considered. Sir Ronald Ross remarked on the large quantity of work published by the Liverpool School in com- parison with the limited number of publications of the London School. The question was raised by Sir John Rose Bradford as to the propriety of including in a report a passage so controversial in tone as that on page 2 of the Liverpool report with regard to the method of measuring trypanosomes. Sir Ronald Ross pointed out that controversy was sometimes necessary, but Sir John Rose Bradford, while recog- nising the necessity of controversy, laid stress on the rule which was followed by the Royal Society and which prohibited criticisms in any personal form and semi-sar- castic in tone. Sir Ronald Ross concurred, and undertook to revise the report so as to preserve the substance of the views of the author, but to remove the appearance of a personal criticism. Sir Ronald Ross incidentally asked whether in these reports it was desirable to insert scientific discussions. Sir West Ridgeway pointed out that the reports went to the medical officers in the Colonies and Protectorates, and that these scientific results were doubtless studied by them, and Sir Ronald Ross concurred heartily in preserving them on this ground.

3. The report of the Professor of Protozoology and the report§ by Professor Nuttall on the work done at the Quick Laboratory, Cambridge, were considered, and satisfaction was expressed at the good work which was being done both in London and in Cambridge by Professors Minchin and Nuttall.

4. The returns relating to the prevention of mosquito-borne diseases were considered. Sir Ronald Ross called attention to the fact that not only was the report from Ceylon less satisfactory as a report than that for the previous year, but it showed a most regrettable increase in the amount of malaria, and a similar result was also to be noted in the case of the Straits Settlements.¶ been for many years distributed in Ceylon, and the fact suggested that more atten- Quinine had tion should be paid to the sanitation of the villages. Mr. Read suggested, and the Corumittee concurred, that the best plan would be that Sir Ronald Ross should be put into personal communication with Mr. Stubbs, the newly-appointed Colonial Secretary of Ceylon.

Sir Ronald Ross remarked also that the reports** from the West Indies, other than that from Jamaica, were by no means very satisfactory either as regards their preparation or as regards the state of affairs which they showed to exist. It was agreed by the Committee, after further discussion, that they would defer their opinions on the reports until they had them all before them, and until Sir Ronald Ross prepared a report on them, which he proposed to present at the First Ordinary Meeting in 1913, hut that in the meantime they desired to call the attention of the Secretary of State for the Colonies to the increase of malaria in Ceylon and the Straits Settlements, and to the fact that the reports from the heads of the Medical Departments in the Leeward and Windward Islands were very meagre and per- functory, and that the state of affairs as regards anti-malaria measures in those

† Nos. 2 in Appendix IV. and 2 in Appendix V. to [Cd. 66697. Appendix II. to [Cd. 6669]. § Appendix III. to [Cd. 6669]. | No. 1 in Appendix 1. to [Cd. 6669].

See No. 4 in Appendix I. to [Cd. 6669].

** Nos. 11, 12, and 13 in Appendix I. to [Cd. 6669].

No. 32.

67

Islands was not very satisfactory. With special reference to the return from St. Vincent, the Committee expressed their opinion that it was desirable that there should be an annual return, as affording the means of comparing the progress of the measures taken against the disease and also as reminding the medical officers of the importance of combating the disease.

5. The reports† on tropical disease research work from British Guiana, the Malay States, and St. Lucia were considered. Sir Ronald Ross called attention to a somewhat controversial passage on page 2 of the Malay States reports, on which the work done by Dr. Simpson and Mr. Edie was criticised. It was agreed that the best plan would be to omit the paragraph and to insert instead the following words:" The author here discussed remarks by Dr. Simpson and Mr. Edie."

6. The reports as to the use of salvarsan in certain Colonies were considered and the terms of the despatch which it was proposed to address to the Governor of the Windward Islands with regard to the mode of administering the treatment in St. Lucia were discussed. The Committee were unanimously of opinion that the Secretary of State should not take the responsibility of giving what could be inter- preted as instructions to try intravenous injection. They pointed out that that mode of treatment was certainly much more effective, but it was essential that it should be administered by a medical officer who was competent to do so, and a medical officer without experience might do great harm. It was agreed, therefore, that the despatch should be altered so as to call attention to the mode of injection, and to point out that much better results were normally attained by it, provided, however, that great care were taken in the technique of the operation, and that the Governor might be authorised to purchase the instruments for use in case any of the doctors were competent to undertake this method of treatment. It was agreed that no special reference should be made to the necessity of care not to administer excessive doses, as that was only one of the points involved in the proper technique of adminis- tration and it was not desirable to lay undue stress on any one precaution.

The Committee were informed of the nature of the report from Trinidad, as to two cases in which, after the use of salvarsan, the patient had died, and two cases where the patients were only cured after two or more injections. They noted the facts with interest.

Mention was also made of the report on the use of salvarsan in St. Vincent (forwarded in the despatch of the Officer Administering the Government, No. 127, of the 25th October). It was pointed out that the method of injection used there was the intra-muscular one, and it was agreed that the reply in the case of St. Lucia would cover the case of St. Vincent also.

7. The question of the allocation of the funds at the disposal of the Committee was considered. Mr. Read explained that a sum of at least £50,000 had been raised for the London School, and there was a prospect of further subscriptions. The Liverpool School had expectations of about £100,000 under the will of the late Sir A. Jones, and both schools were receiving payment for teaching work from the Board of Education. The aim of the fund was essentially research, and he sub- mitted, therefore, a proposal that each School should be given a sum of £500 for the year 1913 in the first instance, the question of further payments to be considered when it was known whether or not the Schools would really stand in need of extra funds.

Sir Ronald Ross laid stress on the strong feeling in Liverpool in favour of absolute equality in the treatment of the Schools. It was pointed out that the Committee in the past had acted upon the principle that the School which had least funds--then London-received the larger grant. If Liverpool were found to be in that position then it would have a strong claim to receive larger grants than London. Sir Ronald Ross concurred that this was a reasonable basis, but he pointed out that if only £500 were allocated it would be impossible for the School to pay the cost of employing a chemist as it had hitherto done. Mr. Read suggested and the Committee agreed that the grant should be increased to £600 for each of the Schools in the first instance. It was also agreed that the grant to the Liverpool School should be allocated solely for research work.

It was unanimously agreed that the work done at Cambridge justified the

† Nos. 23 and 21, No. 7 in Appendix VI. to [CI. 66697. | 27791: not printed. 35811: not printed.

* No. 13 in Appendix I. to [Cd. 6669].

‡ No. 21.

Nos. 37 and 38.

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