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Axjg-> 1949] INDIAN ANTIMALARIA UNITS IN WORLD WAR II : NAIR 363 Public Health Section ACTIVITIES OF INDIAN ANTIMALARIA Camps) were also in charge of this unit. All UNITS IN WORLD WAR II of them without exception were extremely malarious. -- By C. P. NAIR Control measures.?Writer's enquiry into the (lately major, m.b.e., i.m.s./i.a.m.c.) incidence of malaria in the area, especially show that Bhiwandi Camp, started with of. the Numerous instances can be cited to study figures of admissions for malaria in the local has caused more casualties than weapons ^alariaof War combined and war in an During World (European Indian) military many army. This was 5 > for hospital. approximately per few people would realize that in 1943, 1,000 action per day which is a very high figure. Since the every single man put out of by fighting sick- incidence of malaria was high and control work 121 were incapacitated by Japanese, when had to be pushed through as and as mainly due to malaria. In 1944, vigorously ness was quickly as possible, much time could not be gating was severe, the ratio of casualties show devoted for carrying out elaborate surveys. So still 1 to 19. There is ample evidence to iat reduced a quick and rapid survey was carried out in the ratio was again considerably That the activ- two days into the malariogenic features of the ?Vnng the year 1945 to 1946. an area involving spleen, parasite, mosquito (both ) ies of the Indian antimalaria units played larval and adult) surveys, employing all the lmPortant role in the victory of the Allied Forces, men for the purpose. The surveys indicated in the Eastern theatres, is obvious. ^specially as the presence of A. fluviatilis, a well-known and he experiences of the writer, while working e active carrier of the foothills of the Indian . officer two antimalaria units, commanding region, in appreciable numbers in houses, as 0rrn the subject-matter of this paper. well as larvse in slow-flowing, sunlit and un- antimalaria unit is an independent polluted streams and channels with marginal edical the control of malaria unit designed for vegetation. The area requiring control was for the of its carriers. During about ten miles. The immediate control ?! investigation of the square war, an antimalaria unit consisted measure itself after the jne labour suggested survey. oilowing staff, by civilian with insecticide had to be hen supplemented Spraying pyrethrum ever required. done to kill all the adult A. fliwiatilis mosquitoes in the and also officer (com- resting camps surrounding Commanding 1 the within a radius of a before missioned officer) .? villages mile, thev became infective (vide figure 1, plate Indian other ranks (includ- XXIY). So systematic spraying was done ing 1 Y.C.O. and 8 non- from the beginning of September till the end of .. commissioned officers) November, with 0.1 per cent pyrethrum for six Non-combatants enrolled days in the week during the early hours of the .. 55 (including a tinsmith) morning so as to destroy the sluggish adult mosquitoes after their rather heavy blood meal Work in Bhiwandi during the previous night. The sickness rate fell after the spraying and this The of a unit considerably writer was placed in command the cost involved in carrying which in 1943. amply repaid high was raised at Babina August out the campaign. xhis unit was allotted work in military camps, After this control which onie inside and others outside the Salsette preliminary measure, at the conditions at the camp at the siand, area, with headquarters prevailing Bombay here that moment called for, other antimalaria It may be mentioned urgently ghiwandi. as methods were carried out to ttvandi was known in military circles according feasibility. Camp men the were of the malarious camps and The breeding places, especially vectors, highly noted and 2, ?ared the assault more than that of the carefully signboards (figure mosquito were to show the control nnon. The in that camp at the plate XXIV) put up population that measure should be taken. arrival of the writer with his unit staff adequate atAntilarval work with knapsack xTas about The camp was located malariol, using 10,000 15 acre foothill about miles from thesprayer at approximately gallons per^ JUe region, with a i?^v^ ?f Bhiwandi and surrounded on all sidesfor streams and large pools, mopping itsbrush soaked in malariol for rock-edged thick from which the camp derives pools, forest, was done>~. cans 7me- the camp withinstreams and channels Drip ? The adjoining villages were used for mosquito in radius of a mile are Binur, Nimboli, Kasoli, controlling breeding ?p. withsmall channels and oil guddas m pools and Vadpa, Borivli, Panjrapur, ^amango,en from 40. tounderneath road culverts. Dusting with paris rate among children ranging ^ cent in soapstone was per cent. Four more important campsgreen (1 per powder) yi for destroying anophel-ine -larvae in the ^okran, Mulund, Vada and Bhiwandi Bakeryemployed 364 THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE [Aug., 1949 marshes in the vicinity of the camp using sisting of charts, specimens, exhibits of equip- approximately 1 pound per acre. ment, etc. All the unit squads were trained in basic of antimalaria work for about The area requiring control having been well principles a week. General lectures on malaria and its studied, it was possible to divide it into four sections for better organizations of the work, investigation and. control were periodically for the benefit of the each in charge of a non-commissioned officer arranged troops. with 12 men under him. The men in each of Antimalaria campaign was further strength- these sections were responsible for all types of ened by making the officers commanding both antimosquito work. For antilarval work, the medical and non-medical units in the area area comprising a section was divided into six responsible for all antimalaria measures inside divisions, corresponding to six working days of their unit lines. These measures were regularly the week. Sunday was utilized for maintaining supervised by the writer. When two or more the in working condition. At units occupied an area, the officer commanding equipment' good' this time a check up of the control measures the largest unit was responsible to co-ordinate was developed by the writer and is described the antimalaria measures in that area. below. Each unit had an antimalaria officer (non- The efficacy of the control measures was medical man) to whom all necessary assistance checked by making collections of larvae and and advice were given by the writer. These adult mosquitoes (figure 3, plate XXIV). officers had an antimalaria squad under them Since conclusions regarding the efficacy have to based on 4 per cent strength of their unit. These be mostly formed on the collections made by squads were in turn under the supervision of the man deputed for the work, it was necessary really good non-commissioned officers and the to select a man specially suited for this purpose. men in the squad were permanently appointed After the selection of a suitable man, it was still for doing antimalaria work. found necessary to obviate bias. This personal The unit antimalaria officers were made was a collector of arranged by deputing mosquito to divide their areas into six one section to collect in another section accord- responsible sub-areas and show them on a sketch and exhibit- ing to a fixed routine programme. Efficiency in ing the unit offices. The unit squads worked in this checking work was further increased by the each area one day in the week. institution of a prize based on a system of awarding marks for the collections?one mark Measures of personal prophylaxis such as the for a non-vector mosquito adult or larva caught, proper dresses during the evening and at night, and five for vector species. Similarly, indiv- the proper use of nets, antimosquito cream and idual prizes were distributed every month to repellents, were all regularly enforced and main- the men in the section from whose area minimum tained at a high level of efficiency. These number of marks were scored by the correspond- measures consisted of :? ing mosquito collector. It can be inferred that (i) Wearing trousers, long sleeved shirts in the section wherefrom mosquitoes were fastened at wrist, boots and anklets after the control work was So caught, poor. inspec- sundown by all ranks until they get under their tion by the writer was made immediately in that nets. section and the defect rectified. By this A sunset in all units for the means, competition between the four (ii) parade healthy of the sections was created and it is needless to men- inspection antimosquito clothing, and of cream to the face, tion that it increased very much the efficiency application antimosquito hands and other of the of the antimalaria campaign as a whole. neck, exposed parts body. As one of cream A for collec- application antimosquito pro- field laboratory, receiving the tects only for about 2 under the tion of adult and larvae of hours, guards mosquitoes, studying unit were to or whistle them arrangements give gong them, classifying into various species 2 hours after sundown for the of to their the re-application according breeding habits, dissecting all ranks who were not inside adult the of repellent by mosquitoes, compiling proportion mosquito nets. Similarly, an interval was males and females, for blood films for examining arranged in the camp cinemas for re-application parasites, and classifying them, etc., was set up repellent supervised by a senior officer present. and the work in the laboratory and in the field was thus co-ordinated into a regular routine (in) Recreational bathing (i.e.

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