December 20, 1968 
Mr. John Seago 
c/o Barclay's Bank 
P.O. Box 30011 
Nairobi, Kenya 
Dear John, Tony, Thelma, and Mike (my Kenya family) with a large 
jambo and salaam to Winneke and his crew: 
As usual on returning to my cage after a few weeks of freedom, I 
found sufficient problems to get me deeply immersed and foul up 
my proper letter writing, etc, etc. 
The situation at the Zoo is now gradually beginning to get under 
control, I believe. The tuberculosis business was not particularly 
serious as far as the animals are concerned. In fact, we Go not 
even know if the animals have T.B. All we really know is that 
the are reacting to the skin test. They are under treatment and 
are isolated from the public, and their keepers are receiving 
special instructions as to how to care for them and to prevent 
themselves from possibly becoming infected. Next month, about 
the middle of the month, we will again test all of the Great apes. 
At this time we will have either borrowed or rented enough of 
the portable high-powered X-ray equipment to get some chest plates 
on them as well as pass a stomach tubes and do a gastric lavage 
for culturing. Frankly, I don't think our animals have T.B. TI 
think they are just reacting to the test. However, we shall see. 
The main part of the trouble here seems to be with the “personnel” 
or as Desmond Morris likes to call them, “the naked apes.“ We 
have tested, that is, skin-tested all of the employees of the Zoo 
and found, of course, out of 235 people (including the FONZ and 
the employes of the Zoo restaurant) some 67 skin reactors. They 
have all been X-rayed and so far we have found only one person 
with any chest abnormalities and this seems to be either a pseudo- 
tuberculosis or a malignancy. The MDs haven't decided which it is. 
Those people who are reacting to the skin test are receiving medi- 
cation. They will be required to take pilis for an entire year 
and they will be re-checked a couple of times during this year 
as a public health measure. So far this is all straightforward 
