﻿NO. I NATIVES OF KHARGA OASIS HRDLICKA 1 5 



Insanity, the authorities of the village declared, is very rare ; within 

 the last decade they knew in the village of Kharga of but one case, 

 and that in a negro. 1 Imbecility and also epilepsy of lower grades, 

 exist, but no definite data could be obtained as to their frequency. 

 No one knew of any instance of advanced idiocy. 



The presence of albinism is not certain. Two cases were reported 

 of brown children with blue eyes, but they were not seen. Leuko- 

 derma or patch-albinism was found in a man of about 55 with Semitic 

 features. Very premature greyness, of probably different etiology 

 from the preceding, was seen in one man about 30 years of age ; 

 it was limited to the scalp. 



Leprosy occurs, but the cases are isolated and rare. 2 



Fractures of bones and dislocations are very infrequent. 



Scorpion bites occur each year. They are said to be occasionally 

 fatal in children and sometimes also in adults, when the sting pene- 

 trates a blood vessel. There are two varieties of .scorpion — a small 

 yellow one which is found about the houses and a larger greenish 

 one in the desert and hills. 



There are in the Oasis at least two and possibly three varieties of 

 poisonous snakes, including the ordinary sand viper, the horned 

 viper, and possibly also a cobra. The last named, if it exists at all, 

 is very rare. Several viper bites happen every year. Within the 

 last twelve months the physician in the Kharga village treated three 

 such, all in adult men. One of the bites was in the hand and the 

 patient died in three days ; the other two men recovered. The treat- 

 ment in the fatal case consisted of incision, injection of permanga- 

 nate of potash and bandaging. In the other two (one being in a 

 hand and one in a foot) it consisted of incisions with bandages and 

 the administration of antitoxin. The fatal case showed great swell- 

 ing of the limb without any petechia?, then failing vitality with weak- 

 ening pulse and respiration. The poison acted, apparently, as a 

 nervous depressant. 



The before-mentioned camel fly, which comes in April and causes 

 the death of camels unless these are driven away into the desert, 

 will also occasionally bite man. The wound is painful, but no further 

 consequences have been observed. 



Nothing definite was learned concerning parasitism, particularly 

 internal, nor about numerous other conditions which require ex- 

 tended and detailed medical observation. 



^here were, in 1907, according to the census returns, two insane in the Oasis. 

 ? In 1907 four cases of leprosy were reported to the census from the whole 

 Kharga Oasis. 



