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It must be remembered that such suppressive treatment does not prevent a person contracting
malarial infection. While the drug is being taken regularly in proper dosage, clinical attacks
will be held in abeyance, the severity of attacks will be reduced, and the mortality rate be very
low.
Persons who have become infected but have not developed symptoms during the time while
the suppressive drug was being taken, may develop malaria some days, weeks or months after the
drug is stopped. It is necessary, therefore, to watch for such attacks. All persons should be
warned that they have been exposed to the chance of infection, and that, if they fall ill at a later
date, they should inform their medical attendant that the ailment from which they are now suffering
may be of malarious origin.
The taking of prophylactic drugs should not be left to the individual, but should be supervised
officially. There should be an official muster for this purpose (preferably after some meal),
and a responsible officer should be entrusted with the duty of seeing that all persons on board
receive and swallow the prescribed dose of drug. For this purpose a nominal roll should be kept
to ensure that no one escapes."
MOSQUITO CONTROL AT THE ISLE OF GRAIN
The larvicidal control of mosquito breeding within the perimeter of the B.P. Refinery at the
Isle of Grain was continued throughout the breeding season of 1958.
As in previous years the operation was directed by the Refinery Medical Officer and the field
work was carried out by an employee of the Oil Company. Mr. P.A. Traynier, the Port Health
Inspector for the area, continued to be associated with the control operations.
The measures used involved the regular inspection of all areas of ground water with the
identification and charting of any mosquito larvae found, followed by the spraying of such breeding
waters with a solution of dieldrin. Anopheline larvae were found once during the season and
dealt with as routine spraying progressed.
SECTION XI.— Measures taken against ships infected or suspected of Plague
The Fourth Schedule to the Public Health (Ships) Regulations, 1952, under the heading
"Additional measures in respect to the quarantinable diseases" — Part I — Plague, reads as
follows
"(1) The Medical Officer may —
(a) require any suspect on board to be disinsected and place him under surveillance, the
period of surveillance being reckoned from the date of arrival of the ship;
(b) require the disinsecting and, if necessary, disinfection of the baggage of any infected
person or suspect, and of any other article on board and any part of the ship which the
medical officer considers to be contaminated.
(2) If there is rodent plague on board, the medical officer shall require the ship to be deratted
in a manner to be determined by him, but without prejudice to the generality of this requirement
the following special provisions shall apply to any such deratting —
(a) the deratting shall be carried out as soon as the holds have been emptied;
(b) one or more preliminary derattings of the ship with the cargo in situ, or during its unloading,
may be carried out to prevent the escape of infected rodents;
(c) if the complete destruction of rodents cannot be secured because only part of the cargo
is due to be unloaded, a ship shall not be prevented from unloading that part, but the
medical officer may apply any measure which he considers necessary to prevent the
escape of infected rodents."
Plague being primarily a disease of rats all vessels are inspected immediately on arrival at
their berths in the docks and river for the presence of any mortality among the rats on board which
is not attributable to any known cause, such as trapping, poisoning, etc.
Incidentally one of the"Health Questions"on page 1 of the "Maritime Declaration of Health"
requires the Master to answer "Yes or No" to the question "Has plague occurred or been suspected
amongst the rats or mice on board during the voyage, or has there been an abnormal
mortality among them?"
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