An inhabitant of Buruma Island, Uganda, suffering from sleeping sickness. Photograph, 1965, after photograph 1902.

The album, which consists of copy photographs, was sent to Dr Poynter at the Wellcome Institute library by Professor Foster from the Department of Medical Microbiology in Uganda, in 1965. It was put together to record Foster's comments on the photographs

Sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis), an infectious disease which affects the fluid of the spinal cord, causing lethargy and loss of physical function. In Uganda it was passed most virulently by the bite of the tsetse fly

In 1901, a severe sleeping sickness epidemic in Uganda claimed more than 20,000 lives. The first Uganda Sleeping Sickness Commission went out from the London School of Tropical medicine, the senior member was Dr Cuthbert Christy. It also included Dr. Carmichael Low and Count Aldo Castellani.

[Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], [1965]

1 photograph : photoprint, silver gelatin ; image 12.2 x 17.7 cm

Uganda. Buruma Island. The deep sleep of the last stage. This man was carried out of hut, photographed and carried back again without doing more than just opening his eyes and relapsing again into sleep. ... lettering continued: "The other occupants of the hut were two women both almost as far advanced in the disease as the man. All three were too far gone to be able to procure food and their insanitary surroundings" The lettering and original 1902 photograph have been placed together and re-photographed onto the same sheet

Wellcome Collection 29090i