Volume 1

An interim report on the treatment of malaria : Abstract of 2,460 cases. War Office investigations / by Ronald Ross.

  • Ronald Ross
Date:
1918
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An interim report on the treatment of malaria : Abstract of 2,460 cases. War Office investigations / by Ronald Ross. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/54 page 181
    Class D consist of various mixed treatments, or of treatments with other drugs than quinine. b) o. ‘The word “relapse” is necessarily taken here to mean a relapse of fever clinically like malaria, whether asexual parasites are found or not. Where possible, however, the number of relapses in which parasites are found is given; while sometimes sudden increase of asexual parasites without fever has also been noted as relapse—though such cases are comparatively rare. It must be understood that sufficiently detailed examination of the blood could not be made in a certain number of the relapses. 6. When it is stated in the Abstract that a treatment has been given to so many men from such a date to such a date, this implies only that the treatment was practised in the hospital between those dates, not that all the cases were under that treatment during the whole of the period. 7. Relapses occurring in malaria wards during or after a given course of treatment were of course always verified by the special malaria officers. But cases could not be detained indefinitely in hospital for this purpose ; and it was therefore necessary to issue notification cards with all cases discharged from the malaria wards, with instructions to report relapses to the said special malaria officers. These instructions have been very largely obeyed; but it is impossible to guarantee that every relapse has been reported. Hence we must infer that the number of relapses recorded in the Abstract is, if anything, below the true figure. 8. The number of relapses recorded in the Abstract is, of course, not yet final, partly because more of the cases are likely to relapse in the future, and partly because the further examination of records now being made may disclose the occurrence of relapses which have been hitherto overlooked. I hope therefore to submit corrected figures on a subsequent occasion. By that time it may also be expected that the numbers of cases treated by many of the better methods now reported upon will be considerably increased. 9. Before studying the exact effects of different treatments, it was advisable to obtain some figures as to the frequency of relapses occurring among men who have been taking quinine previously, but for whom this medication has now stopped. Accordingly 193 men who were admitted at Oxford, either for attacks actually in progress or for recent attacks before admission, were watched carefully without any quinine treatment
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