Annual report of the Medical Department / Uganda Protectorate.

  • Uganda Protectorate. Medical Department.
Date:
[1952]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report of the Medical Department / Uganda Protectorate. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    31/94 (page 25)
    vaccinations are not without danger in the absence of careful supervision. In one district two deaths resulted, from tetanus and septicaemia respec¬ tively, due to the application of native remedies prepared from cow- dung. The total known cases, 243 with 4 deaths, is the largest since 1947 (43 in 1951 with 2 deaths). 432,900 doses of calf lymph were distributed. Trachoma In the West Nile District, useful light was thrown on the local characteristics of trachoma. The highest incidence was found in children aged 2-10, averaging 30% for the whole district, whilst only 2% of adults showed evidence of infection. Women suffered more than men, possibly on account of having more to do with the children. The disease was more prevalent in the Nile Valley than in the adjacent highlands. In many infected persons the disease was mild and caused only slight discomfort. Another district where trachoma and its sequelae are rife is Kara- moja; here the hot climate, dust, cattle and flies have all been blamed. The operation of tarsectomy, as modified and described by Boase*, is being used widely for the relief of the later complications. Tuberculosis The number of deaths from respiratory tuberculosis recorded among hospital patients (80) was the lowest for recent years (142 in 1951), while on the other hand the number of patients diagnosed as non-respiratory tuberculosis was the largest on record. (241 in 1952, 147 in 1951). Until the new system of recording has become stabilised, speculations about the reason for these changes would be premature. Increasing use has been made of the newer drugs in treatment, and laboratory testing of drug-resistance was initiated. Proposals were being considered for therapeutic trials at Mulago Hospital. In one district it was noted that all the known cases of tuberculosis were among persons associated with educational institutions. The possi¬ bilities of disseminating the infection in such institutions—above all in dormitories—are obvious, especially among scholars engaged in sedentary studies. The tuberculin survey in 1949 showed slightly higher rates of reaction in schools (5% higher in Kampala, and 8% higher near Masindi). Typhoid Judging by hospital statistics, there was an increasing incidence of this disease in pre-war years, rising to two peaks—one in the early years of the war, the second in 1949. The number of patients treated in Govern¬ ment hospitals has remained fairly steady since then. The disease is less prevalent in the hotter parts of the Protectorate, and is seen more commonly during the wet season. Formerly, the peak * See Appendix II.