Page 6 - Bulletins-No. 1-1938-Endemic-Filariasis-In-The-Federated-Malay-States

3

1.—FOEEWORD.
"Harapkan si-untut menggamit kain koyak di upahkan".
(Malay Proverb.)
Filariasis is a disease that in Malaya has not, in the past,
been reckoned of great account or been the subject of any exten-
sive investigations; in part because of its parochial character,
in part because it is a cause of disability and not of death; in part
because it occurs in the relatively inaccessible riverine areas and
not among the township communities. During recent years,
however, it has become apparent that the amount of disability in
these riverine ureas is now sufficient to menace them from an
economic viewpoint, the more especially as some of them are in
the process of development for the growing of rice on a large
scale. This, together with the fuel that the discovery by Dutch
investigators of a new species of Filaria in the East Indies has
led to widespread studies of (he condition in those islands, hits
given impetus to an enquiry into the distribution, intensity and
character of the disease as it occurs in the Federated States.
The report that follows attempts to combine two objectives.
The first is to present a compilation of facts observed by others
in connection with filariasis, and more particularly those that are
pertinent to the disease as it exists in this country, in the belief
that such a summary may prove of value to Health Officers and
those who may come in contact with this condition during the
course of I heir work. The second is to give the results of a
preliminary survey of infested areas, as an indication of the im-
portance of attempting control by one means or another. At a
later date it is hoped that it will be possible to present more
concrete information about the transmission of the parasite con-
cerned, and the outcome of methods of prevention and treatment
that are at present under trial.
The scope of the investigations now in progress may be
summarised as follows:
1. To ascertain those areas in which filariasis occurs, and
whether such areas are increasing in size and
number.
2. To estimate the present intensity of infestation in the
areas at present involved, and the amount of dis-
ability that has resulted from the concomitant ele-
phantiasis and lymphangitis.
3. To investigate the most simple and accurate means of
diagnosing infestation and its intensity, and any
methods of treatment that may inhibit, wholly or
partially, the clinical sequel*.