Reports and notes of the Public Health Laboratories, Cairo. No. 1, 1917.

Date:
1918
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Reports and notes of the Public Health Laboratories, Cairo. No. 1, 1917. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    15/144 (page 5)
    Sess Careful records were kept of the names and addresses of all the individuals whose blood:-was examined, together with the results of the examination, with'a view, if possible, to a later ‘investigation of their subsequent history. The age distribution of the infected cases was as follows :—. Age Distribution of Population infected with Microfilariz. N.B.—This Table does not include cases in which no age was given. From 0-19. * From 20-40. From 41-60. Over 60. ; Locality. Male. Female. Male. Female. ‘Male. Female. ' Male. Female. Exam.| Posit. |Exam.| Posit. |Hxam.} Posit.|Exam.| Posit.|Kxam.} Posit.|Exam.| Posit.|Hxam.| Posit. |Exam.] Posit. Abu Ruweish ile ae 8} —|; —] 38; 19} —| —} Il Dy A eee i SS ee ees |p ee Beni Magdél ...| 19 2} — | —|{ 50} 16; —]}] — 7 1} —} —}| —]| —] —] — Kirdaca 1... +..|°6 5 55 116), fo 8 L1}.—|—/}]—}| —{| -] -— Kafr Ghatati ...) 21 D 4 a Bs ale 6 3) 20); 12} —|] — 2 | .— | — |.— Kafr Nassar. ...| 26 3 3} — | 3l Ty) SS) 10 ee 4 TE i eat | a cae Kafr el Simmén 6 i iv — 128 ets | eee Qe |) i TOO Inet eye eae bi Thriltows eergeGs biTg loses eee her Bet repo) — “Number of cases Number of cases Number of cases Number of cases infected :— infected :— infected :— infected :— ~ 125 out of 108 = 23:15.% | 78 out of 246=31:7% | 19 out-of 68 = 28% lout of 8=12'5% * These were mostly young adults, as very few children under twelve years of age were examined. It thus appears that we have, in this district, a comparatively small and apparently limited area within which a very large proportion of the population is infected with filaria. The intensity of the infection is very high near the centre of the area, as in the villages of Abu Ruweish and Kafr Ghatati, where probably not less than 50 per cent of the whole population are infected. As we proceed southwards from this centre the percentage of infected individuals rapidly falls to a com- paratively low figure. Unfortunately, we have not as yet sufficient-data to enable us to delimit the area of infection, but it would appear to be comparatively small, as cases of elephantiasis are said either not to occur or to be very rare in the surrounding villages. It is most desirable, however, that this should be gone into, and the examination of the blood of the inhabitants of these villages would settle the point. | A thorough investigation of the whole area in question would be of the greatest interest and might throw some light on this at present unexplained curious distribution of endemic filarial infection. As pointed out above, the district of Abu Ruweish appears to have been a centre of this infection for at least fifty years, and in the present state of our knowledge it is a most astonishing fact that the infection should have remained comparatively limited, seeing that there is an abundance of mosquitoes known to be capable of carrying the disease and no lack of infected persons for their infection. The villages in this area do not appear to differ in any way from other Egyptian villages where elephantiasis is unknown, either as regards their water supply, breeding places for mosquitoes, or other conditions likely to affect the spread of the infection. The only point of interest, as possibly having some bearing on the question, noted by us was that a desert road from the Oasis of Siwa enters the cultivated land near Abu Ruweish, and we were told that from time to time caravans from this oasis visited the village of Kirdasa, where _a considerable. market is held. As there appeared to be remote possibility that in the past the infection might have been introduced by Siwans ‘visiting the district, some enquiries into the existence ‘or otherwise of filarial infection in the Oasis of Siwa were made, and Dr. Sobhy, who had then been Medical Officer in the oasis for thirteen months, informed us that he had not seen any cases of elephantiasis there. Dr. Sobhy also obtained blood taken at night from twenty-eight . Siwans and these were examined in the laboratory, but in no case were microfilariz found.