Quarterly report on the progress of segregation camps and medical treatment of sleeping sickness in Uganda. For the quarter December 1st, 1907-February 29th, 1908 / A. C. H. Gray. With an introduction by A. D. P. Hodges.

  • Hodges, A. D. P.
Date:
1908
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Quarterly report on the progress of segregation camps and medical treatment of sleeping sickness in Uganda. For the quarter December 1st, 1907-February 29th, 1908 / A. C. H. Gray. With an introduction by A. D. P. Hodges. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    It will be seen from these figures that patients continue to come to our camps for treatment in a satisfactory manner, as 600 more patients have been admitted during the last three months than during the whole previous year.* A new camp has been started on the Island of Bugala, Sesse, close to the site previously used by the German Commission under Prof. E. Koch. Though patients seemed I'ather shy of further treatment on Sesse at first, I am glad to say that the islanders are going there in large numbers. Dr. J. H. Goodliffe is in charge of the camp and Dr. Bayon is assisting him. Dr. Goodliffe, when reporting at the end of his first month, said that 208 ])atients had presented themselves for treatment, 105 of whom said tliat they had previous injections of medicine from the German doctors. A history of these 105 patients, all of whom said that they had had previous injections (presumabl)' of A.toxyl), is interesting. 61 were males and 44 were females. In 32 of them—20 males and 12 females—trypano- somes were found by Dr. Goodliffe in the lymphatic gland juice. It is impossible to say, of course, how much Atoxyl any of these patients had had, as their statements are so unreliable, but nearly all of them said that they had had many injections. In these 32 patients the typical gland enlargement was present, but the glands seemed harder than normal. In 73 the trypanosomes could not be found in the lymphatic glands. In 15 of these 73 there was no apprecialde gland enlargement and no symptoms of Sleeping Sickness, although, presumably, when they first came for treatment to Prof. Koch they were infected. In those remaining (of these 73 patients) in whom trypanosomes could not be found there was a certain amount of gland enlargement, but the glands were hard and fibrous. All these 58 presented some symptoms of Sleeping Sickness. From what is said later on in this report under “symptoms possibly due to Atoxyl,” it will be seen that a large proportion of these previously treated patients developed ocular symptoms on being given more Atoxyl. The camp on Sesse differs somewhat from the other camps. Only comparatively few of the patients liVe in hospital, i.e., the bad cases, and those without homes of their own. All the rest come up for treatment every three or four days and live in their own homes. So far Dr. Goodliffe reports that the people come very regularly. If a patient comes up on a day on which Atoxyl is not due, he or she is given a dose of some tonic or other medicine which helps in the treatment. The only objection to Sesse as a treatment centre is that there is a chance that many of the patients, in going to and from the dispensary to their homes, are bitten by tsetse flies and might be reinfected with trypanosomes. A great deal is now being done in the way of clearin« on these islands, and the Chiefs are continually impressing on the people the danger of going down to uncleared areas on the lake shore, so that I think at the present time that Sesse islanders are not bitten by tsetse flies to anything like the extent that formerly prevailed. Luckily there is any amount of native food on these islands, so that a large amount of traffic between Sesse and the mainland is not essential. Such trafiic as there is is now confined to properly cleared ports on the coast and islands.