7
REPORT OF THE KING INSTITUTE, GUINDY
with the standard 3 feet of fine gravel. In its turn the new standard per
-colator did not do as well as the mature standard percolator which had been
running for a year.
The effect of coarseness of material was also tried. A new percolator with
the usual 3 inches fine layer (in this case of broken granite) passing through a
mesh of 4 to the inch and retained in a mesh of 10 to the inch was compared with
another percolator with 2 feet of a local stone called Sholinghur stone—a broken
stone passing through ¾ inch mesh plus a topmost foot of ¼" to ½" material of the
same stone. A third percolator with only 1 foot of broken granite of the same
fineness as in the first percolator was also made.
The second two percolators—the coarse and the shallow did not do quite so
well as the regular 3 feet fine layer percolator but since they promised well they
were allowed to continue for the sake of comparison with two other percolators
one with 3 feet of medium sized material ¼" to ⅜ " and the other with 18 inches
of slightly finer material ⅛ " t o ¼ " . T h e r e s u l t s w i l l b e p u b l i s h e d i n d u e c o u r s e ,
but we may say that the coarse percolator improved with longer running.
(2)
Investigation of Diphtheria at Gunt ū r.–Since the subject is of some
general interest, a detailed report is given in Appendix I. The most noteworthy
feature was the small proportion of cases in which paralysis developed and the
low mortality.
(3)
Investigation of an obscure intestinal disease simulating acute sprue at
Pennadam.—As evident further investigations are needed and will be done as
opportunity offers. The subject is a very important one and so the report of the
investigation though incomplete is published in Appendix II.
(4)
Sprue at Golden Rock.— The Chief Medical Officer, South Indian Railway,
reported the existence of several cases of a disease like sprue. As these appeared
to be similar to the disease investigated at Pennadam which disease had also
been reported in the adjacent Trichinopoly district it was thought that an investi
- g a t i o n a t G o l d e n R o c k u n d e r b e t t e r c o n d i t i o n s f o r w o r k a n d f o r c o n t r o l o f p a t i e n t s
would throw light on the problem. Two reports are given in Appendix II.
(5)
The isolation of Anaerobic Streptococci from glands in "Climatic Bubo" .—-
A full report in Appendix III describes this important finding by Dr. J. H.
The odore. Hitherto no organism has certainly been incriminated as causing this
disease. Now climatic bubo to all intents and purposes is a venereal disease,
and recently bacteriologists, particularly Colebrook, have stressed the importance
of anaerobic streptococci in puerperal conditions and as an inhabitant of the
vagina. Accordingly though much more work needs to be done to confirm our
finding and to prove (if such should be the case) that anaerobic streptococci are
the causal infecting agent of climatic bubo, yet we can say that this finding
appears to be in line with what we should expect.
(6)
Idiopathic Tetanus in Madras .—Several cases, many ultimately fatal,
have been admitted in the General Hospital, Madras, in whom as in the cases at
Vellore, no local lesion could be found. Probably the disease is of intestinal
origin. Col. Bradfield reported these cases to us and asked the Institute to work
with Dr. Ramakrishnan, Bacteriologist to the Hospital on their investigation.
Dr. Venkataraman has been assisting Dr. Ramakrishnan in this and the results
will be reported after sufficient cases have been examined.
(7) The other minor researches noted in the last report from No. (8) onwards
are being continued.
THE KING INSTITUTE, GUINDY,
Dated 19 th February 1931.
H. H. KING, LIEUT.-COL., I.M.S.,
Director.