Drugs In Nng

A New Way To

Attack Malaria

Salt Will Carry

Drugs In Nng

From an AAP-Reuter Correspondent in Hollandia, NNG

Salt, treated with anti-malarial

drugs and sold over the trade store counters, is the latest plan the Dutch administration intends to try in the attempt to control Netherlands New Guinea’s most

serious disease—malaria.

The plan is the next step in a long war against malaria which the health authorities here first began with initial research into the problem in 1953.

Now, after five years, they have brought 120,000 people under the protection of residual spraying, as well as injecting anti-malarial drugs into thousands of others.

The Director of Health, Dr. J.

Bierdrager, says the salt scheme will be started before the end of the year.

The Government will buy ten tons of salt, which will be treated in Holland with anti-malarial drugs.

It will then be sold through the shops to the natives in the Sarmi area, west of Hollandia.

Although the production cost of this specially treated salt will be dearer, it will be sold over the counter at the ordinary price to the natives, so they will not be tempted to buy the cheaper, ordinary product.

The Dutch Administration is being assisted in its work against the malaria fight by UNICEF, which last year supplied spraying material and chloroquine tablets valued at £9,500. In addition, the Dutch Government has spent about £54,300 on malaria control.

Extension plans in the next controlling stage will include the western part of New Guinea.

Co-operation Needed

The Health Department’s aim is to cover the whole of the Territory.

For this, it is most important to have the close co-operation of the Australians from their side of the border.

Dr. Bierdrager said: “The fight against malaria needs to be on an inter-country basis”.

Three other major diseases— tuberculosis, yaws and leprosy— plague this Territory.

Gratifying results have been obtained from the yaws campaign.

Since 1955, 350,000 people have been treated. This represents the total number of people under the Administration’s control.

Medical teams are now working in the patrolled areas.

The disease which is causing the Dutch their biggest trouble is tuberculosis. This disease is spreading.

BCG vaccinations are the Health Department’s greatest weapon at present, but there is little it can do against the more advanced cases.

Unlike the Australians, the Dutch do not have visiting thoracic surgical teams to treat the more serious cases, because of the enormous cost of bringing teams all the way out from Holland.

Dr. Bierdrager said he hoped that, in the future, it would be possible for the Australian thoracic

team to visit Hollandia. This type of co-operation between the two countries, and pooling of medical skills, was an important part in the development of both Territories, he said.

The incidence of leprosy is 5.1 for every thousand people in the areas under the control of the Administration. This figure drops to 2.6 for the whole of the country, but the number of registered cases is increasing slightly and now stands at about 1,800.

To control this disease the Administration has isolated and treated the infectious cases in leper colonies. The patients are traced by regular examinations.