Report of the Sudan Medical Service.

  • Sudan. Medical Service.
Date:
[1936]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Sudan Medical Service. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    10/118 (page 4)
    EPIDEMIC DISEASES. CEREBROSPINAL MENINGITIS. 13,440 cases with 8,906 deaths were reported. They were distributed as follows :— Province. Cases. Deaths. Blue Nile . • • ... . . . 1,433 916 Equatorial ... ... ... 1 1 Darfur . . . 8,833 6,158 Kassala . . • 67 41 Khartoum ... 360 251 Kordofan . . • 2,293 1,386 Northern • • • 220 130 Port Sudan and Suakin . . . 3 2 Upper Nile ... . . . 14 7 White Nile ... • •» 216 14 13,440 8,906 The incidence for the last seven years is as follows :— Year. Cases. Deaths. Year. Cases. Deaths. • 1930 . 865 665 1934 ... ... 4231 3341 1931 . 348 240 1935 ... ... 3249 2154 1932 . 532 384 1936 ... ... 13440 8906 1933 .. 166 131 The disease was raging in parts of Kordofan Province, and had been reported in Darfur Province at the end of last year. Despite every effort to localize the epidemic, it spread to all parts of these provinces during the first six months of the year, and also to the Northern, Khartoum, White Nile, Blue Nile, and Kassala Provinces. The only effective prophylactic measure under field conditions was found to be tiie evacuation of villages to specially constructed shelters in the open country. Where possible a separate shelter was constructed for each person. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the administrative and medical staff, and the native administration officials, and the ready cooperation of the people them¬ selves, it was found possible to carry out this measure effectively over extensive areas with a large population. The result was sufficiently obvious to impress the inhabitants themselves, and there is no doubt that many thousands of lives were saved, but it is a sad reflection on modern medical science that it was impossible to prevent the heavy loss of life which occurred. Treatment under field conditions is unsatisfactory, although serum may be of use in early cases where hospital facilities are available. As usual in the Sudan, the epidemic died down with the onset of the rainy season.