Evening star., 1950-03-12

aim in setting up w. H. o. within
the United Nations framework in
1948 was to enable medically ad-
vanced countries jointly to aid the
less advanced for the benefit of all
w. H. O.'s main attack now is
concentrated on three preventable
diseases: Malaria, tuberculosis
and syphilis. w. H. o. estimates
that these three kill upward OF
100000 persons every year. but
considers these figures extremely
conservative" In many parts OF
the world health services are SO
inadequate no one knows how
many more millions die without
ever seeing a doctor.
Hundreds of thousands more
are killed every year by cholera
and plague, also high on w. H. o.
priority list. In many areas of
India and China these two dis
eases have claimed their dead
every day for centuries. AS long
as these hard cores Of infection
remain the danger of a catas-
trophic epidemic sweeping through
the world continues permanent
menace.
Modern Problems
fashioned quarantine meth
DDS are no longer effective in the
air age. mo country can depend
solely on It's own protective ar
rangements," says Maj. Gen
Brock Chisholm, w. H. O.'s di-
rector general. Each must be
assured of satisfactory controls in
all other countries as well. The
protection of one country depends
on the effectiveness of health ad-
ministrations in other countries
and upon the success Of their col
Iective action"
DR.. ChiSholm-he has dropped
his military title-is a soft-spoken
little man with twinkling eyes
who is recognized as one of the
worlds outstanding psychiatrists
He has organized w. H. o. into
divisions and area commands or
military lines, possibly on the
basis Of his experience as wartime
head Of the Canadian Army's
medical services.
His organization Is one of the
most successful of the U. N. spe-
cialized agencies. With an an
nual budget of $7,500,000, w. H. o
sends medical missions and spe-
cialists to a score of countries
maintains permanent watch
against the spread of pestilence
organizes full-scale campaigns In
particularly disease ridden areas,
aids and records progress in medi-
Cal research throughout the. world
and assists any member nation in
the development of It's health
services and the training of it's
DR.. Chlslolm's pet project is an
ambitious malaria control pro-
gram to be spread over the next
five years in test areas of the
Middle East, Southeast Asia and
Latin America. The test was Or
ganized by w. H. O., and the
United Nations Food and Agricul-
tural Organization under Presi-
dent Truman's point four" world
development and technical as
sistance program.
Malaria, which strikes an esti-
mated 300 million persons every
year, can be eliminated in any
area by vigorous action against
the anopheles mosquito. The
three test projects will cost SIC
million. w. H. o. expects the i'm
mense increase In food production
in the test areas will repay many
times the original expenditure.
Mothers Cooperate
New techniques In malaria con-
troll are being employed by num-
Der Of small w. H. o. demonstra-
ton teams already operating in
half d dozen Asiatic countries
Armed with DDT insecticide, these
teams penetrate into the jungles
OF Central India and the noun
tains OF Afghanistan to fight
malaria and show medical stu
dents and sanitary engineers how
to do the job themselves.
w. H. o. has abandoned the old
technique of spraying DDT from
airplanes as wasteful and unnec-
esSary. The system was widely
employed in Greece and Sardinia
but experts now agree that indi-
didual indoor spraying of houses
Is preferable.
The malaria teams run into un-
expected difficulties in isolated
areas. In the Terai district OF
India. a team headed by DR.. Peter
1ssaris of Athens met with Buxas
a tribe where the head of the
family is always a woman. The
mothers thought the malaria blood
tests were a cunning selection
system for the Indian army and
spirited their sons into hiding
Bribed with packets of DDT to
kill their lice and small bottles
of benzoate against their scabies
the mothers were persuaded to
Cooperate.
In some areas the anti-malaria
teams wiped out even more deadly
diseases. In Shimoga, India, Paul
Bierstein, w. H. o. sanitary en-
gineer from Shenandoah, Pa.
found his DDT campaign also
killed f1eas carrying plague, elimi-
mating the dreaded disease from
that area. In East Bengal, DR.
Gabrielle Gramiccia from Rome
Italy, fought malaria in an area
infested with kala-azar, a deadly
tropical disease transmitted by
sand flies. DR.. Gramiccia's DDT
killed the sand flies, wiping out
kala-azar in the district.
w II n'c opti m q 10 rio faooo.