Annual report on the Medical Research Institute / 1909-.

  • Nigeria. Medical Research Institute.
Date:
[1916]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on the Medical Research Institute / 1909-. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    18/38 (page 16)
    highly acid again, and highly coloured, containing much bile, but the specific gravity did not vary, remaining at 1,015 throughout. This continued for 4 days. The urine then became more or less normal. Glucose had been administered throughout the illness, and it was stopped at about the time when the urine became normal. The urine at times had a peculiar odour, similar to acetone. Profuse drenching sweats were common every day. It seems as if many of the symptoms in the case may have been accounted for, by an Acidosis.” Dr. A. H. Wilson has also sent notes of his case in a negro, at Benin City. “Sambo. Ejaw tribe. Male. Age 24. Came to Hospital, January 8th 1915, complaining of ‘feeling cold, with slight headache.’ Temperature 10I F. He stated his urine was black, and he passed, on request, 4 ounces of porter-coloured urine. The specific gravity was 1,025 the reaction neutral; albumen about deposit on standing, greyish brown, consisting of granular debris, granular casts and a few^ red blood corpuscles. The blood film on this date showed no parasites. He is a robust healthy strong man, not anaemic and showing no sign of being ill. The only history obtainable from him regarding the present illness is that he has been feeling cold for 10 days and passing black urine for 3 days. V His past history is that during the last three years he has had three attacks of “ Blackwater,” this being the third. During the two previous attaks the Blackwater lasted 2 months, not every day during this period but for 1 to 3 days at a stretch, associated with shivering, the non-Blackwater periods extending from 2 to 4 days. He does not appear to have been seriously ill at these times, nor to have had any severe symptoms; sometimes there was vomiting, but not always and never severe, no pain or tenderness in Epigastrium, no loin pain, no Jaundice. . The course of the present illness has been as follows the urine contained haemoglobin up to 14th January, steadily decreasing and the albumen steadily decreased also, ceasing on the same date. During this period the patient’s general condition remained good. There were no marked symptoms of any sort. There was slight vomiting on two days only, 8th and 10th January. There was no pain or discomfort anywhere and no jaundice at any time. The temperature fluctuated between 101 F and 98JF until the first w eek in February.” ^ necessary to insert here some comments on “Studies in lackwater Fever, V. On the importance of furnishing population statistics m connexion with cases of Blackw^ater Fever”, bv J. W. W. Stephens, Annals oi Tropical Medicine and Parasitology Yoi. X No. 3 pp 345-356. It is impossible to disagree with the suggestions of this author as regards the collection of statistics. It is true that such statistics as are furnished are incomplete. Dr. Stephens’ paper, properly read must be undei stood to oe not a complaint against those who forward the facts of the cases but rather as a powerful plea for a real investigation into the na ure of the disease. A t present it is impossible to state the number each month m stations where a case of Blackwater Fever occurs (a, of officials (6) oi non-officials »c) of Syrians, Asiatics, West Indians, etc. (d) of natives, nor their age periods, nor their African service, nor their prevtous attacks of Blackwater Fever, nor their attacks of Malaria nronortimf ^T10118 Slx montlls’ nor the quinine prophylaxis, nor the statu ns th sexes* A few figures might be obtained in small