Sept. 1906. | 



275 



Miscellaneous* 



Campaigns Against Malaria. 



Sir,— On several occasions you have kindly permitted me to draw the atten- 

 tion ot your readers to the progress of the anti-malaria campaigns at lsmailia and 

 in the Federated Malay States, and I have heard that the information so given has 

 more than once encouraged the commencement of similar work elsewhere. Will you 

 allow me to add some further notes V I hope it will not be necessary to trouble you 

 again on the matter, as the success of the campaigns referred to seems to be now 

 completely assured. 



With regard to lsmailia, 1 wish to call attention to a brief but effective 

 official report just issued by the Suez Canal Company. It is entitled " Suppression 

 du Paludisme a lsmailia," and can be obtained by writing to M. le Secretaire-General, 

 Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez, 9, Rue Charras, Paris. It gives 

 the whole history of the campaign in the town, with an account of tlie expenses and 

 of the results. Since 1903 no new case of malaria has been observed at lsmailia. The 

 ordinary mosquitoes (by which is meant the Culicina) have disappeared, and all the 

 inhabitants have been able to discontinue the use of mosquito nets. Although a few 

 Anophelines enter the town from the environs during the autumn, they do so in 

 very small numbers— so small as not to constitute any danger, as shown by the 

 complete disappearance of the fever. Doubts have frequently been thrown on the 

 reality of the success obtained by the Suez Canal Company, but I think that a perusal 

 of this report will convince any impartial reader. It must be remembered that up 

 to 2,000 cases of malaria used to occur annually in this town. 



The work done at Klang and Port Swettenham in Selangor, Federated Malay 

 States, will be set forth in a report by Dr. Travers. State Surgeon, Selangor, and 

 Dr. Malcolm Watson, District Surgeon, Klang, which will appear in the Journal of 

 Tropical Medicine, Messrs. Bale, Sou, and Daniellson, July 1 next. In this report, 

 also, details of the history of the campaign, of its cost, and of its success are given, 

 and will prove no less convincing. The statistics for 1905 are even more favourable 

 than those of 1902 and subsequent years, while the disease is. if anything, increased 

 in the surrounding areas which have not been treated. Dr. Watson says in a letter 

 to me :— 



"The work has been an absolute success, infinitely more so than I ever 

 imagined possible. ... I hope for a decidetl diminution in the amount of malaria. 

 The absolute sweeping away of the disease seems to come as a reproach to me for 

 lack of faith. , . . I wonder how many Government officers are deterred from 

 making and carrying out anti-malaria works because the work seems so enormous, 

 because they feel they will never be able to make any appreciable improvement, and 

 because they fear they may have failure cast back at them. If there are such, 

 I wish they could take a lesson from Klang." 



I do not think that Dr. Watson will object to my quoting these important 

 passages. 



People have said that the success at lsmailia was due to the arid nature of 

 the country, but 1 am sure that the same thing cannot be said of such a climate as 

 that of the Federated Malay States, and it is clear that such striking successes 

 obtained in such diverse parts of the globe leave no excuse open for neglecting 

 similar measures elsewhere. 



We may, therefore, hope that a few years will see the general adoption of 

 such measures. A great incentive to this will be the new Malaria Return which has 

 been promised by the Colonial Office, in response to action taken by Major 

 Seely, D.S.O., M.P., in Parliament, consequent upon representations by Mr. Hahne- 

 man Stuart of this city. This return will, I hope, give full details of the actual 



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