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REPORT ON THE WORKING OF THE KING INSTITUTE, GUINDY
and staff were thus reduced to a minimum, increased mobility was ensured and
the efforts of the workers could be wholly concentrated upon the investigation
on hand. As a proof of the mobility of these units it need only be mentioned
that in each case they were ready to move off from the Institute with all the
apparatus and stores necessary for their investigation within 24 hours of receipt
of orders. On arrival at their destination one day was sufficient for them to open
up the laboratory and commence work.
The measure of success which has attended the various investigations carried
out by these units can best be judged by a survey of the work which has been done
by them and by the number of demands which have been made for their services.
The only unit sanctioned was employed throughout the year first in the Ali
- p u r a m J a i l f o r t h e M a p p i l l a p r i s o n e r s a n d t h e n i n t h e C e n t r a l J a i l , C a n n a n o r e .
Other demands for assistance were so insistent, however, that other units made
up of members of the Institute staff had to be despatched on several occasions.
At these times the remainder of the Institute staff worked short-handed.
The following units were sent out from the Institute during the year under
report:—
(1) One unit to form a camp laboratory at Alipuram Jail.
(2) One unit to investigate relapsing fever in Tanjore district.
(3) One unit to investigate an outbreak of typhoid fever at St. George's
Home, Kaity.
(4) One unit to investigate an outbreak of cholera at the Central Jail,
Coimbatore.
(5) One unit to form a clearing bacteriological laboratory for the Mappilla
prisoners at the Cannanore Central Jail.
(6) One unit to investigate a severe outbreak of fever amongst officials
belonging to the Forest Department at Olavakote.
1. The unit at the Alipuram Jail, Bellary .—The unit to the Alipuram Jail was
dispatched as a results of a report of the Director, King Institute, Guindy, on the
increasing sick rate occurring in this jail. Military Assistant Surgeon, Theodore,
I.M.D., was placed in charge of the unit. The unit remained at the jail from
February 1922 to September 1922. The chief causes of mortality were reported
to be dysentery, chickenpox, cerebrospinal fever, influenza and undiagnosed fevers.
The lines upon which the investigation was to proceed were laid down before the
unit, left the King Institute. Full details of the work done are given in Dr.
Theodore's report (Appendix II). The type of dysentery present in the jail soon
proved to be for the most part bacillary in origin. The epidemic was rapidly
brought under control by means of the detection, isolation and treatment of the
"latent dysentery" cases
.
The meningococcus of Weichselbaum was isolated from several cases of
cerebrospinal fever. The cultures were fully examined at the King Institute and
were found to belong to type 1. A vaccine prepared from these organisms was
used in the jail. A very large number of cultural examinations of the naso
- p h a r y n x o f c o n t a c t s a n d o t h e r s w e r e c a r r i e d o u t i n t h e h o p e s t h a t c a r r i e r s o f t h e
disease would be discovered. Contrary to the findings already recorded by
Gordon, Martin Flack and others in England no meningococci were isolated
from the throats of any of the prisoners. Preventive measures based upon the
bacteriological findings prevented the epidemic from assuming grave proportions.
An unsuspected epidemic of typhoid fever was also discovered by the isolation of
the specific organism from the blood of certain of the patients.
In addition to the work done on these special diseases the laboratory
examined a large number of routine specimens. Dr. Theodore also undertook the
- s a n i t a r y c h a r g e o f t h e j a i l u n d e r t h e S u p e r i n t e n d e n t , C o l . T u c k e r , I . M . S .
The chart which accompanies Dr. Theodore's report illustrates very well the
success of the measures which were rendered possible by the expert work done
by the unit. The unit was visited once by the Director and once by the Assistant
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