Medical report / British Honduras.

  • British Honduras. Medical Department.
Date:
[1954]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: Medical report / British Honduras. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    f .• ‘ ... ■ . , REPORT ON THE BCG CAMPAIGNS IN BRITISH HONDURAS. The Origin of the Campaign The first suggestion for a campaign in British Honduras was made in January 1948 by the then Acting Senior Medical Officer. In March 1951 the Director of Medical Services reopened this question, but only in April 1952 was UNICEF approached for help and advice. In August of the same year Dr. J. L. Bonilla of WHO came to survey the tuberculosis problem of this country and he recommended a BCG vaccination campaign. In March 1953, UNICEF approved the scheme and provided all equipment and material. The Government of British Honduras agreed to provide all transport and personnel. WHO financed the training of a doctor, a nurse and a laboratory technician and these left for training abroad in May 1953. The date for the beginning of the Campaign was set for 1st September 1953 and it was decided that the team should visit all communities large enough to have a recognised school. Planning and Propaganda Tentative timetables for the Campaign were worked out early in June and Committees were formed in all the districts to advise on propaganda. These Committees were ad hoc organizations, comprising members of the Legislative Council, representatives of the schools, churches, voluntary organizations and government officials. The central Com¬ mittee in Belize first met on the 24th of June 1953 and laid down the general lines of propaganda. On the 24th of July a meeting of all the medical practitioners in Belize approved the BCG Campaign. On the same day a meeting of all school managers promised the active cooperation of all teachers in the country. On 2nd August, 1953 the Director of Medical Services opened the propaganda campaign with a broadcast on BCG. His talk was printed in the local papers the following day. Pam¬ phlets explaining the purpose of the BCG vaccination were printed and mailed to all teachers, police constables, nurses and doctors. Extracts from the pamphlets were published daily in the local newspapers and announced over the radio. Posters urging the public to “fight T.B. with BCG” were displayed. The propaganda film supplied by UNICEF was shown to large audiences and lectures were given by doctors, nurses and sanitary inspectors to various groups of the population. Because of the possibility of jungle yellow fever in monkeys it was decided to offer yellow fever vaccination to the population in the districts during the BCG Campaign. Material and Equipment Vaccination kits and forms for statistical records were sent to us from UNICEF head¬ quarters in New York. The “Laboratiorio del BCG” supplied us monthly by air from Mexico City with Purified Protein Derivative of tuberculin in dilution of 5 Tuberculin Units in 0.1 cc in rubber stoppered dark bottles and with BCG vaccine in dilution of 0.025 mg. in 0.1 cc in dark ampoules. Yellow fever vaccine came from the “Instituto Carlos Finlay” in Bogota, Colombia. Field Work The first session for tuberculin testing took place on the 11th September 1953. It was held in the hospital compound in Belize. Doctors, nurses and in general all persons employed in the hospital were seen at this session. Policemen, civil servants and their families also at¬ tended. On the 14th the results of the tests were read and the first BCG vaccination took place. Thereafter on Mondays and Tuesdays schoolchildren were tested in the various schools. Wednesdays were reserved for testing the general public usually in a public hall. Thursdays and Fridays the schools were revisited for the reading of the test and vaccination, whilst Saturdays were again reserved for the general public to read the reaction to tuberculin tests given on Wednesdays. In this way all reactions were read on the third day. Prevaccination testing and vaccinations were made by a team comprising one doctor, four nurses and several voluntary workers. Working with the general public the following routine was evolved: