Abstract
WHEN Drs. Stephens and Christophers, the Royal V Society's Commission on Malaria, were in India, Captain James had the advantage of being associated with them, and the present volume contains the result of his own observations, both at that time and since. The writer first gives a detailed and eminently practical description of the methods he has found most useful for detecting the malarial parasite in the blood of patients, and for tracing its further development in mosquitoes. An important point to which he draws attention is that the hospitals and jails of India are seriously discounted as fields for the study of the malarial parasite by the fact that the great majority of the patients are under the influence of quinine, in which case the parasites are apt to be banished from the peripheral circulation. In the investigation of malaria among the general population the same fact holds for India as Koch, Stephens, and Christophers have independently found for Africa, namely, that in any place which is more or. less malarious, a certain number of young children will have malaria parasites in their blood, and the percentage of young children so affected affords the most accurate test of the amount of malaria and the liability to infection existing there. The percentage of infected children, or, Is it is called, the “endemic index,” is therefore the first thing to determine when investigating a village for malaria. The variety of parasites present in the children's blood, and the number of cases of “large infection,” are further points to be observed, for if there are a good number of large infections, there will be more likelihood of finding infected anopheles. A search is then made for adult anopheles in the houses, outhouses, and stables, the variety and relative abundance of each species is noted, and it is determined by dissection (1) what species of anopheles are carrying malaria at the time, and (2) the percentage of these infected with sporozoites. Thirdly, a careful and detailed investigation is made in order to determine the exact position and extent of the breeding grounds of each species of anopheles present, special attention being paid to the breeding grounds of the species found to be infected. In the words of Captain James, “Every pool, stream, and collection of water of any kind within a radius of half a mile of the village should be thoroughly searched for larvæ.” The accurate knowledge of the conditions determining the prevalence of malaria in the place under examination thus obtained permits of a definite system of prophylaxis being formulated for that place. An important point emphasised by Captain James is that no general system of prophylaxis will apply to every place, but that the malarial individuality of each must be studied.
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GORDON, M. A Recent Study of Malaria 1 . Nature 67, 513 (1903). https://doi.org/10.1038/067513a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/067513a0