10
REPORT OF THE KING INSTITUTE, GUINDY
the infected villages should be removed and that a malaria gang be instituted
for constant supervision of the area.
4. Visit to Simhachallam. —This is a place of pilgrimage situated. on the top
of a hill two miles north-west of Vizagapatam. Severe malaria being reported, it
was surveyed two years ago by officers working under the Director of Public
Health. During his survey of Vizagapatam a visit was made by Assistant Surgeon
Krishnan to see the condition at Simhachallam. It was found that none of the
recommendations made by the first survey had been carried out—malaria was
worse, spleen rates had risen to 75 and 88 per cent and parasite rates to 67 and
71 per cent. The chief malaria carrying species was culicifacies; fuliginosus,
willmori, theobaldi and barbirostris were also found. The chief breeding places
were streams down the hill and their irrigation branches at the foot of the hill.
5. Survey of the Mopad area.—In the west of the Nellore district is the
Mopad reservoir made by damming up the Maneru river in 1921. This reservoir
irrigates a tract immediately to the south and east of it, the first portion of which,
about 21 square miles in extent between the main canal and the Maneru river, is
called the Mopad area. It was reported that malaria was increasing here so at
the request of the Director of Public Health, a survey was made by a unit in
charge of Assistant Surgeon Krishnan in March 1926. At this time the seasonal
epidemic was over, for the north-east monsoon had ceased and the hot weather
was beginning. The parasite rates in the villages were from 45 to 66 per cent
which are high for a non-epidemic period. The spleen rates were also high from
49 to 80 per cent. Adult mosquitoes were scarce and the large majority were
A rossi. Fortunately larvae and pupae were numerous, the species were, rossi,
culicifacies, stephensi, fuliginosus, and listoni. Of the malaria carrying species
culicifacies was the commonest and was probably the chief carrier. A short
inspection will be made in September to determine this and other points
on which a decision could not be reached because of the season. The
chief breeding places of the malaria carrying species were channels and. pools
formed by overflow and drainage from the rice fields and stretches of water in the
otherwise dry bed of the Maneru river—dry, because blocked by the Mopad dam
above the area. The sub-soil water was almost at the surface in some places, and
in others was no more than 5 or 6 feet below the surface. Subject to opinions to
be formed by a later inspection, the chief recommendation was to substitute dry
crop irrigation for wet crop irrigation and thus diminish the supply of water to the
land, leading automatically, as it is hoped, to the abolition of most breeding
places, whose continuance appeared to be mainly due to the high level of sub-soil
water. It is important to note that it was not the rice fields themselves that
were directly incriminated, but that it was the water-logged condition of the soil
brought about by the large amount of water used on the fields. The irrigation
scheme was originally intended for dry crop irrigation, but, later this was changed
to wet crop irrigation apparently without reference to any Public Health authority.
(G) RESEARCH WORK.
In addition to much of the ordinary work of the Institute that falls under this
head, and to the work outside the institute of the investigation units already
described, the following bits of special work have been done:
—
(1) Interrelation of viruses of the vaccinia group. Dr. C. G. Pandit has
been investigating the relationship of the viruses of contagious epithelioma of
fowls to the viruses of vaccinia and variola. He has obtained the interesting
result that after passages on suitable animals he has been able to produce a
strain apparently identical with vaccinia from the virus of contagious epithelioma.
The strain thus obtained. is of considerable potency. The experiments are being
continued and a paper will follow.
(2) Streptococci in puerperal fever. —Assistant Surgeon. J. H. Theodore has
isolated streptococci from many uterine and vaginal swabs taken from cases of
puerperal fever at the Government Hospital for Women and Children. Madras.
These streptococci have then been typed according to Holman's classification. A.
paper is being written.