Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-23
DISEASE FIGHT IS ON
War Against Sleeping Sick
ness in German Africa.
HOW THEY KILL PARASITES
Physicians Win Victory in Lake
Victoria Region.
Is AT STANDSTILL THERE
How the Disease Is Transmitted
After Days by Flies Who
Are Infected.
HOW THEY KILL PARASITES
S AT STANDSTILL THERE

BERLIN. tu2nsf .::-rhe North Ger
man Gazette publishes an interesting e
port from Oar Salam - the progress
made in the effort = combat sleeping
sickness in German East Africa The
report Is not official. bui as the Noriu
German Gazette describes il ~ absolutely
trustworthy il is presumably written hv
one of the staff of medical men engaged
in putting into practice the measures
recommended b. Pros. koth OF The basis
of observations made during his eNpedi-
tions in 1908 and 1907
The natives. il is therein stated wefa
st frs. mistrustful and left the Camp
before they We're much benefited. hut
Prof. kleine, the army doctor. who has
been working with his staff on the south
ern shores Of Victoria Nyanza since tile
beginning of the year 1905. has gradually
won their confidence
The treatment consists mainly in fh-
Injection of atoXyl which Prof Koei,
employed in large quantities on the Sesse
Islands. Although atoNyl does not NJ
ways effect a cure il kills the parasites
OF the disease in the blood OF the pa
tient few hours after the first injc,
ton. and thus prevents the persons
treated from spreading the infection.
When the aioxyi treatment is applied
In the early stages of the diseas" /, *
frequently efficacious. but in tho ma
Jority of tho cases where the disease ia
of long standing its progress oniv
he stayed. Apart from the fact that
atoxyl cannot he depended upon a
specific. il is apt Ia produce blindness
when Tho treatment is continued for a
long time. and strenuous efforts are b.
ing made To discover efficient sub
Stitute. DIR. Enrich of Frankford con-
siders he is within sight OF finding one.
II has been ascertained that the GloSsnt
palpalis must have shady places for breed
ing and development. and that II diSap-
III.
dergrowth has been removed. The au-
| thorities have for months past been en-
gagged in clearing away the underground
! in districts where the disease * most
! prevalent. namely. around Schirati and
along the banks of the Mort river. Tho
i effect of these measures is enhanced and
secured by the -inglo-German sleeping
1 sickness agreement which came into force
at the beginning of this year. The num-
] Der of the patients treated in the Schirau
district is about co. but fewer new cases
are brought into camp each month.
About 600 patients have been treat
ed also in the kisiba and Busabu dis
trictS. and Prof. kleine believes that he
| has had every native through his hands
who has shown signs Of being infected.
/ The natives are forbidden to seek work
in Uganda. where the sleeping sickness
prevails, and in this way. combined
with careful medical control and I'll.
removal of the underground. it is hoped
| that no fresh cases will occur. OF
these $40 cases only thirty We're women.
! the wives Of men who had been in
! Uganda seeking work.
Disease at Standstill.
! While the medical officers have thus
practically brought the disease to a stand-
| still in the districts around the Germa n
| portion OF Lake Victoria, various circum-i
stances combine to prevent the attain
ment of similar result in the districts
bordering Lake Tanganyika. The natives
| are shy of Europeans. and are reluctant
| TO place themselves in the hands of the
| German medical men; the population is
4 more dense, and il is impossible 10 clear
away the underground from the banks OF
so many small rivers that empty into the
| lake. The consequence is that in spite OF
the untring zeal of the German doctors
the sleeping sickness had spread in sew
eral directions during the past year.
| On the other hand, the German districts
around Lake Nyassa seem To be free
| from danger. as the slossina palpals is
not indigenous there. Several of the Ftl-
! ropeans engaged in combating the sleep
| ing sickness have caught the disease, but
IN all cases the attacks have been re,a-
/ lively mild. This Is ascribed to the cir
| cumstance that proper measures are
, adopted Immediately the symptoms are
! observed.
| The report concludes: Prof I<leina
and his assistants have made a most i'm
portant scientific discovery. The We'll
known English sayant. DIR. Bruce. as
sumed from the observations which he
| made that tsetse flies, among which is in
cluded the trypanosome from animal to
animal or from person TO person. DIR.
Bruce believes that the germs of the dis
ease became attached to the proboScis os
the fly as 1t sucked the blood of dis
eaSed person. and were left in the blood
OF the next person or animal attacked
He was also of the opinion that these
germs could not be communicated 10 an
other person or animal after three or four
days.
Flies Not Maligned.