Report on health services / Tanganyika.

  • Tanganyika. Medical Department.
Date:
[1959]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report on health services / Tanganyika. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    56/118 (page 50)
    293. The extension of the bacteriology of tuberculosis noted in the previous year continued, and the number of cultural examinations of sputa increased by 37 per cent, while the number of sensitivity tests performed on strains isolated increased by 90 per cent. Although the central laboratory was the only one carrying out sensitivity tests isolations were made also at the “A” laboratory at Moshi, the strain isolated being sent to the central laboratory for sensitivity testing. 294. Throughout the year the central laboratory acted as the laboratory centre in Tanganyika for the United Kingdom Medical Research Council’s East African Tuberculosis Drug Trials. Two such full scale trials were held and although the follow-up of neither is as yet complete, by the end of the year sufficient data was obtained to allow of the planning of a third trial. 295. There was again an increase in the amount of general bacteriology carried out. Full cultural examinations were made on 3,892 specimens as compared with 3,450 in the previous year. Sensitivity tests to the common antibiotics were once again routinely set up on all organisms encountered of known or doubtful patho¬ genicity. It was observed that approximately 63 per cent of the Staph, aureus strains isolated were resistant to penicillin. This percentage approximates to that of the previous year and it was felt that possibly the steady increase in resistant strains recorded since 1954 had ceased. 296. In recent years there has been a noticeable reduction in the number of salmonella isolations, although shigella isolations have tended to remain constant. In 1953 salmonella types isolated from 763 non-African stools numbered 82 and from 982 African stools 66. In 1959 corresponding figures were five from 703 non-African stools and one from 536 African stools. No obvious cause of this very marked change was noted. 297. Progress in the development of clinical virology facilities was again disappointing, but late in the year a grant was received from Colonial Development and Welfare funds which will enable additional accommodation to be provided and facilitate the establishment of a tissue culture laboratory. Early in the year the fertility rate and viability rate of the hens’ eggs available became so low that serious work was not possible. Either there were not enough fertile eggs to inoculate or else the inoculated eggs died before any lesion had time to show itself. The cause of this situation was not elucidated but towards the end of the year when the supplier changed his flock’s food a supply of good fertile eggs was restored. In view of this, variola-vaccinia isolations were limited in spite of the fact that there were numerous outbreaks of smallpox. No influenza virus was isolated and it was not possible to prepare antigens for the serological testing of sera to enable retrospective diagnosis to be made. 298. During the year the Central Pathology Laboratory was designated an Influenza Centre by the World Health Organization. 299. The amount of general serology undertaken again increased by about 25 per cent over the previous year. About a quarter of the sera were routine specimens from food handlers or sera received in investigations into outbreaks of typhoid fever. The number of serological tests for syphilis showed an increase of 12 per cent over 1958. The scope of the tests performed remained unchanged from previous years, namely the Kahn test. Price’s precipitation Reaction and the White¬ chapel Wasserman Reaction and it was felt that these, if interpreted correctly and repeated when necessary, were sufficient to give all possible information in local conditions. In the provincial “A” and “B” laboratories only the Khan test was employed. 50 f