Annual medical and sanitary report / Swaziland.

  • Swaziland. Medical Department.
Date:
[1953]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual medical and sanitary report / Swaziland. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    69/100 (page 3)
    - 3 - (or rooms) have been sprayed. European farms and their compounds have also been sprayed by mobile spray-gangs under the supervision of a Senior Native Malaria Assistant. The employment of vehicles with spray-gangs to speed up control work, especially on European farms and scattered native areas, has already proved very advantageous, and although this form of operation is somewhat more costly than that done by gangs working on foot only, it is thought that the additional cost will bring good dividend in our control. DIELDRIN. A small quantity (80 lbs) of this new insecticide, manufactured in .America and distributed by the S.A. Shell Company, was purchased. The insecticide is reputed to have a much longer residual effect than D.D.T. or B.H.C, An experiment with Dieldrin, to ascertain the efficacy under local conditions, is now under way. Approximately 300 huts situated near rice-paddies at the Swaziland Irrigation Scheme were sprayed at the end of October. The huts will receive this single treatment only during the transmission season; they will be regularly checked throughout, at night-time in some instances, for the presence of mosquitoes. As a control, two compounds in the vicinity of the sprayed huts but about two miles apart, will be left entirely untreated. The inhabitants of these control areas will receive regular doses of Daraprim tablets. Blood specimens from all nativea living in Dieldrin-sprayed huts, and also those receiving Daraprim, will be examined monthly throughout the season, A report on these observations wri.ll be published in due course. The experiments could only be made possible through the kind and active co-operation of Dr. Davidson, resident Medical Officer of the Swaziland Irrigation Scheme. C. LABORATORY. Despite the fact that the Laboratory Assistant was absent on four months’ overseas leave, the total number of specimens dealth with during the year shows an increase of over 2,000 (6,163 in 1952 as compared with 8,420 in 1953). The following table gives detailed statistics of laboratory examinations carried out during the year; for comparisonnthe figures for 1952 are also listed. ROUTINE LABORATORY EXAMINATIONS - 1953, As compared with those of previous year 1952, (l) General. 1953 1952 Serological Tests for Syphilis 7,653 5,403 Agglutination Tests:(Widal, Weil Felix, Brucellosis) 287 2hU Diphtheria: Throat-Swab Cultures 44 58 Blood, Stool and Urine Cultures 158 159 Full Blood Counts and/or Differential Counts 97 116 Blood Sedimentation Rates 8 24 Biochemical Tests 30 38 Bacteriological Micro: Smears, Stools and Urines 143 121 Total 8,420 6,163