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459. Assuming that the Municipality decides to seriously attempt the
eradication of malaria the following steps must be considered. It will be
necessary to—
(1) decide whether the measures shall be taken against all mosquitoes or
be directed specially against those responsible for malaria ;
(2) vote sufficient money for the purpose ;
(3) sanction the appointment of a Special Assistant to the Executive
Health Officer, who can devote his whole time to the direction and
supervision of the necessary measures ;
(4i) sanction an increase in the existing subordinate staff of the Health
Department, so as to allow of the necessary numbers of Inspectors and
labourers required for the work ;
(5) obtain adequate legal powers for carrying out the necsssary measures.
460. The prevention of dangerous Anopheles or of all hinds of
mosquitoes.—In the ad interim report published in 1910 it was stated that
the conclusion arrived at was that,
" The prevention of dangerous anopheles, rather than the destruction
" of all mosquitoes, must form the key-note of anti-mosquito sanitation
" for Bomba} 7 ."
In the present report the cost of an " all-mosquito-prevention scheme" and
a " dangerous-anopheline-prevention scheme " have been compared.
461. There is much to be said in regard to the respective advantages of
these two measures. It may be argued in support of " all-mosquito work "
that, all mosquitoes are a nuisance, that certain species other than malaria-
carrying anopheles carry disease, and that it is a good thing to attack them
all. In particular it may be urged that Culex fatigans and N. rossi
(possibly) convey filariœ (the cause of elephantiasis) to man ; that dengue
fever is supposed to be carried by culicine mosquitoes, that Stegomyia calopus
(or fasciata) carries yellow fever and that Hanson and others have already
warned us that this disease may be introduced into Asia after the opening of
the Panama Canal in 1915.
462. On the other hand it may be pointed out that, although an attack
upon all kinds of mosquitoes may be an anti-malarial measure, unless it is carried
out so carefully that the actual carriers of the disease are not passed over,
it may easily degenerate, into the mere slaughter of the commonest species of
culex and anopheles mosquitoes, and the disease-carriers really aimed at may
almost entirely escape.
It may be pointed out also that, filarial infection is not common in
Bombay and yellow fever does not exist there at present, moreover the
breeding places infected with the carriers of malaria number only about 2,000,
and many of them are of such a nature as easily to be neglected or passed over
in a campaign directed against every kind of mosquito. The question of
expenditure must be considered also, and it must be remembered that the cost
of a strict anti-malaria campaign, directed mainly against the carriers of
malaria, is likely to be very much less than a campaign against all mosquitoes,
which to be successful against malaria must be absolutely thorough.
463. It appears probable that the wisest course to take in Bombay would
be to commence with an attack directed specially against the malaria-carrier.
Once the control of malaria, has been achieved it will only be necessary to
expand the organization to the required limit if the work is to be extended.
As regards the danger from yellow fever, it may be pointed out that there is
little question that an executive that can control malaria-carrying mosquitoes
will find little difficulty in also controlling the yellow fever carrier Stegomyia
calopus if it is found to be necessary.
464. Expenditure.—The question of expenditure must really decide the
choice of complete or partial measures against mosquitoes. In the case of all-
mosquito measures it will be necessary to allow for an expenditure of Us. 2,00,000
to Rs. 5,00,000 per annum according to the area of work. But the cost of