161 



Gill (C. A.). Note regarding Malaria in Kashmir. — Indian Jl. Med. 

 Res., Calcutta, vi, no. 3, January 1920, pp. 610-617. [Received 

 16th July 1920.] 



The reasons for the freedom of the Kashmir valley from malaria are 

 considered. Anopheles willmori — a proved carrier of malaria — was 

 distinctly abundant in places and bit freely in September 1919. Other 

 Anophelines included A. plumbeus {barianensis)[cf. R.A.E., B, i, 142] 

 A. lindesayi, and A. gigas. 



In 1919 therefore the factors favourable to the occurrence of malaria 

 were : — the Anppheline factor ; the human factor, Kashmiris being 

 suspectible in the Punjab, while numbers of malarious subjects, both 

 British and Indian, visit Kashmir annually ; climatic conditions, the 

 summer being rather hotter than the average English one, and the rain- 

 fall being the same as in many parts of the Punjab plains, and evidently 

 producing conditions favourable to insect life. The only unfavourable 

 factor seems to be altitude. The floor of the Kashmir valley is elevated 

 between 5,000-6,000 feet above sea-level ; mountainous regions are 

 generally stated to be free from malaria, though apparent exceptions to 

 this rule have been reported. A table of the incidence of malaria at 

 varioiis heights in the Punjab shows it to be absent in localities having 

 an altitude of 6,000 feet or over, in spite of the presence of malaria- 

 carrying Anophelines. The critical altitude would appear to be 

 between 5,000-6,000 feet — ^the average height of the Kashmir valley. 

 Consequently the apparent freedom of Kashmir from malaria must be 

 ascribed in some way to its altitude. The exact significance of altitude 

 in relation to malaria has not been studied, and it is proposed in a 

 future communication to endeavour to throw more light on the subject, 

 which may prove to be of more than academic interest. 



OiLL (C. A.). The Relationship of Malaria and RsiinfsLlL— Indian Jl. 

 Med. Res., Calcutta, vii, no. 3, January 1920, pp. 618-632. 

 [Received 16th July 1920.] 



Whilst in all malarious countries there is a general association 

 between rainfall and malaria, no constant relationship exists between 

 excessive rainfall and the incidence of autumnal malaria. In the city 

 of Amritsar an excess of rainfall is apt to be associated with great 

 epidemics that occur abruptly in the last week in September, reach 

 their maximum in the first half of October, and thereafter decline with 

 moderate rapidity. 



The correlation between the July-September rainfall and autumnal 

 malaria is high, but for the production of epidemic malaria the July- 

 August rainfall is of paramount importance. The effect on malaria 

 of rainfall in the other nine months is inappreciable. Infection is most 

 likely to occur between early July and the end of October, the first two 

 months being more important. Besides rainfall, economic conditions, 

 and, possibly, other factors, are capable of influencing the occurrence 

 of epidemic malaria. 



As the data regarding rainfall and the economic conditions concerned 

 in the production of malaria epidemics in the Punjab are available 

 each year at the end of August, it will be possible to forecast these 

 epidemics with considerable accuracy about three weeks before their 



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