A medical officer taking a sample of blood from an inhabitant of Buruma Island, suffering from sleeping sickness. Photograph, 1965, after photograph 1902.

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.

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

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

1 photograph : photoprint, silver gelatin ; image 16.9 x 12.7 cm

Uganda. Buruma Island. Collecting blood slides from an ear for microscopic examination. the blood was taken from the lobe of the ear and the examination was mainly for the detection of Filaria pustans - which in 1902 was thought to be connected with the transmission of the disease The lettering and original 1902 photograph have been placed together and re-photographed onto the same sheet

Wellcome Collection 29109i