Report on the depopulation of the Vanni District, Northern Province / by James Loos ; ordered by His Honor the Officer Administering the Government to the printed.

  • Loos, James.
Date:
1868
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report on the depopulation of the Vanni District, Northern Province / by James Loos ; ordered by His Honor the Officer Administering the Government to the printed. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    DEPOPULATION OF THE VANNI DISTRICT. Eeport. h But while expressing my conviction tliat Parangi disease is to some extent a form' of constitutional or hereditary syphilis, I believe that other causes have a powerful influence on the development of the symptoms and aggravation of the complaint. It requires little observation to satisfy one that the inhabitants of the Vanni are surrounded by the most unhealthy influences. Long periods of drought lead to the use of water, for drinking and other purposes, which would nauseate ordinary stomachs, and to the absolute neglect of personal cleanliness. The bodies and clothes of the people are filthy in the extreme. The huts in which they live are close and confined, and no doubt favor the spread of the disease. Water is obtained from tanks, the area of which is large, but the depth of water small. These tanks not only supply drinking water, but people bathe in them, and herds of buffaloes lie in them during the heat of the day. The water, consequently, is thick and muddy, full of organic matter, and, if kept for a little time,, decomposes and becomes oifensive. Insufficient food or the use of unwholesome food is another source of depravation of the blood, which probably plays its part in the production of the disease. The people them- selves term several articles of diet ordinarily consumed by them, Kirunti food. Bufi^alo milk and curds, the different kinds of fine grain, some species of vegetables, such as Kakiri- kd't {cucumis niuricatas), Brinjals {solaiium melongena), and other articles, are so designated. Kurakkan, which is largely used by the people, is regarded by them as Kiranti. Although I am not able to speak from much experience, I believe there is no reason to doubt the nutritive qualities of Kurakkan; but 1 suspect the people are right in thinking that it is heating, and that it lays the foundation of disorders of the digestive organs and of the skin, a result attributed also to the constant use of Oatmeal and other farinaceous food. In the letter addressed by Mr. Russell, the Government Agent of Jaffna, to Govern- ment, and forwarded, with your communication, for my information, it is ingeniously supposed that Parangi disease bears a resemblance to Pellagra, a form of affection of the skin which prevails in the south of France, Italy and Spain. It is not to be doubted that there are points of close resemblance between the two complaints, but there are also some of difference. It would appear that in Pellagra the eruptions are more scaly than tuber- cular or pustular. The constitutional disturbance is greater; there is more disorder of the digestive functions, and mental despondency and greater failure of strength. The cachexia is marked, but not syphilitic. It has also been suggested to me that the disease \s Land-scurvj/. There is no doubt that it acknowledges to some extent the causes of scurvy, and is consequently allied to it; but the symptoms of scurvy are wanting. There- are no purpuric patches and spots, no tendency to hemorrhage, the gums are not spongy, and do not readily bleed, and there is no great langour and debility. I am myself inclined to think that Parangi answers somewhat to descriptions of Sibhens or Sivvcns, which is said to have been t)nce endemic in the south-Avest of Scotland, but does not now exist, and to otlier syphiloid diseases which prevail at the present day in Africa and the West Indies. To these, and other forms of skin affection which prevail in different parts of the world among the peasantry or lower classes, Parangi is probably allied. They all most likely arise from the same exciting causes,—insufficient and unwholesome food, bad water, close and confined dwellings, agricultural occupations, and neglect oF'personal cleanliness; the manifestation of the depraved condition of the system being varied and modified by climate and t oil, the physical and moral character of the people, and other circumstances. Although I have stated that the disease i-^ not ffital, and its influence on health and longevity not very apparent, it is not to be doubted that to those afflicted with it, it is a source of impaired usefulness, extreme discomfort, and a life of wretchedness. Many of the poor people I saw are burdens on their relatives, and some are already the recipients of bounty from the Government. They are likely to be the ready victims of other diseases ; and the great extent to which the disease in question is prevalent is a cause of degeneration and slow depopulation: as such it deserves the earnest attention and consideration of the Government. In the Mullaittivu District, the severest and most numerous cases were found at Kumulamuuai and Putukkudiyiruppu ; but no village that 1 visited was entirely free from the disease. I was informed that some very badly affected villages existed, brtt they wei'e not lying on my route. In the Mannar Vanni, I was able, with the assistance of Mr. Twynam, to learn in some of the smaller villages the proportion of affected persons to the healthy, by turning out the inhabitants and passing them in review. The following: facts were thus ascertained;— Sinna Tampanai.—Popvdation 30. Fifteen were formerly affected: tvfo now affected, Peria Oluhkulam—A Siiihalese village.—Population 35. Seven per.-5ons now affected; but several have marks of former affection. Sftduvcntupulo—A Moorish village. Population 30. Ten now affected, and eight with cicatrices and marks of liaving been formerly affected, Sulamhen.—A Moorish village. Population 30. Six persons now sick, and nine with marks of former affection. iVe/?Jt/£M/fl,w.—Population 35, of whom twenty had suffered from the disease, but only three arc at present affected, Irampaikkulam—Population 30. Three now alTected; but eighteen bad the disease. [166]