PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF TROPICAL DISEASES

I have lived for over thirty-five years in an environment of tropical disease. My first colonial experience was in Mauritius in the year 1868. An epidemic of malarial fever of exceptional fatality had broken out in 1866, and was still raging. Up to the time of this epidemic Mauritius had been one of the healthiest colonies of the Empire; as a naval and military station it was of unsurpassed salubrity; it was also a favourite health resort for Indian civilians on furlough, while commercial and agricultural enterprises were carried on amid surroundings which seemed to combine every charm of the tropics with the most favourable conditions of life in temperate climates. The centre of business and of pleasure was Port Louis, where also were the military headquarters. It was here that the fever commenced. Slowly, but constantly, it encroached on the suburban districts and on the line of sea level around the coast. As it advanced the residences of the wealthier society were removed to a higher elevation. The barracks at Port Louis were first abandoned, and subsequently, as the fever advanced along the coast, other military posts. In illustration of the gradual progress of the malarial area, I may mention that in 1870 the Government commenced the erection of an observatory at great cost. The site, in the district of Pamplemousses, not much above sea level, has since become so unhealthy that the Government has been urged to abandon it.