Report on the measures adopted for the suppression of sleeping sickness in Uganda / by Sir H. Hesketh Bell ; presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of His Majesty.

  • Great Britain. Colonial Office.
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Report on the measures adopted for the suppression of sleeping sickness in Uganda / by Sir H. Hesketh Bell ; presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of His Majesty. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    lulvocuted systematic aucl radical measures for arrestiuj^ tlie spread of the disease. He recommended that ‘ every person residing’ in an infected area should he examined for the presence or otherwise of sleeping sickness, and registered and classified into groups according to the stage of the disease in those affected. It would then he possible to exhibit on an extensive scale remedies likely to he effective at the different stages of the disease. It would also he possible to carry out and ascertain the effects of segregation. . . . The procedure which I ven- ture to suggest will entail a very considerable expenditure, hut if it leads to the discovery of a remedy, either curative or pre- ventive, the beneficial result to both the inhabitants of the country, and, consequently, to the Government, would more than repay any reasonable outlay.’ Dr. Hodges, also, on more than one occasion, seems to have advocated the segregation of suf- ferers and their removal from the Lake shore. “ It may be assumed that questions of finance prevented action being taken on these excellent recommendations, and it was, doubtless, also hoped that the researches of the six special Officers, engaged for the special study of the distribution of the fly, would have brought facts to light which might have an important bearing on the suggestions made by Sir Patrick Man- son, Colonel Will, and Dr. Hodges. As a matter of fact, these researches have, so far, only confirmed previous discoveries, and it may be taken as certain that if persons suffering from sleeping sickness be permitted to enter into districts now apparently free from disease but wherein tsetse flies are found, sleeping sickness will sooner or later declare itself, and the mortality will depend upon the facility with which the flies can act as carriers of the poison between man and man. “It is to be feared that in many places the mischief has already been done. In the Wadelai District, for instance, the mortality has been terrible, and it is estimated that over 2,000 persons have died within the last 18 months in a comparatively small area. In Unyoro there are now believed to be many hundreds of cases, while in the districts bordering on the Mpolo- goma, in the Mount Elgon District, thousands have died. “ After very careful consideration of the whole matter, and in consultation with my medical advisers, I now feel myself justi- fied in recommending immediate action on the following lines: — ‘ ‘ (1) The removal of all infected persons to fly-free areas, and their treatment by Medical Officers in specially organised camps. “ (2) The temporary removal of all healthy persons from areas infested by flies that are presumably infected. “(3) The elimination of flies, as far as possible, in all locali- ties from which the population cannot be removed, and in all places through which travellers are obliged to pass. “ (4) Further investigations into the life-history of the tsetse with a special view to the discovery of conditions that appear to be inimical to the fly.