4
the Chairman, City of Bombay Improvement Trust,
the General Traffic Manager, G. I. P. Railway Company,
the Chief Medical Officer, B. B. & C. I. Railway Company.
The total cost amounted to Rs. 41,662, which was shared as follows :-
Rs.
Government ... ... ... 32,662
The Bombay Municipality ... ... 4,000
The Port Trustees ... ... ... 4,000
The B. B. & C. I. Railway Company ... 1,000
The Governor in Council desires to congratulate Dr. Bentley upon the satisfactory-
completion of his labours and the thanks of Government should be conveyed
to him. His Excellency in Council also desires to express his appreciation of
the services rendered by the members of the committee and by all the gentlemen,
both official and non-official, mentioned in the preface to the report. The
Government of the United States of America should also be addressed with reference
to the assistance rendered by. Colonel Gorgas of their Sanitary Service.
*Neocellia stephensi. Myzomyia listoni.
Myzomyia culicifacies. Nyssorhynchus fuliginosus.
Some results taken from Chapter VII of part III
of the report are quoted in the appendix to this Resoultion.
3. The report is based on the principle that malaria infection from man to
man is carried by certain species* of
mosquito and that if these species
could be prevented from breeding, malaria
as an endemic disease, capable of becoming epidemic in favourable circumstances
would disappear. This principle is now generally accepted in dealing,
with sanitation under eastern conditions and it has been applied with unvarying
success in many parts of the East
wherever natural facilities were favour-
able. There is no reason to suppose
that equal success would not attend
sustained and well directed effort in Bombay. It is the earnest hope of the
Governor in Council that as a result of this investigation the scourge of malaria
may cease in Bombay, and it is his intention to do all in his power to further effort
directed to attain this end.
4. It is clearly shown that malaria in Bombay is due to internal infection
and that outside infection may be disregarded. The disease is endemic and at
intervals, when conditions favour a spread, it becomes widely epidemic. The facts
concerning the endemicity of malaria may be briefly summarised-the south of
the island is more infected than the north, and of the former sub-division the worst
infected areas are comprised within the Esplanade, North Fort, Mandvi and Dhobi
Talao sections of the town. Taking the population by race or caste, it is found
that malaria is comparatively more prevalent among the Parsis than among any
other community. In support of this fact Dr. Bentley cites the higher percentage
of enlarged spleens among Parsi children and the general low vitality of the race
as indicated by their failure to show a natural increase, no great excess of births
over deaths taking place amongst them from year to year.
5. The rate of mortality directly due to malaria is comparatively speaking
small, but the amount of ill-health caused by this disease is enormous and gravely
affects the economic efficiency of the population. At a very conservative estimate
Dr. Bentley puts the direct loss in wage-earning capacity alone at ten and a half
lakhs of rupees a year, and if indirect losses be included, it may be said that a sum
of twenty-nine lakhs of rupees represents the annual cost to the city. It fortunately
appears clear that at a comparatively insignificant expenditure malaria can be
easily controlled, and this cause of disease and economic loss can be eradicated.
6. By far the most dangerous carrier of malaria infection in Bombay is the
mosquito known as Neocellia stephensi. Its most common breeding grounds are
open wells situated within the precincts of domestic houses in those parts of the city
that show the greatest malaria infection, but it is so adaptable that it will breed
in cisterns, fountains, masonry and other tanks, tubs, barrels, tin pots and other
minor collections of water and in open pools of water. Larv have been found
in wells of clear water in daily use, and in the deep reservoir of clear water
on Malabar Hill. This mosquito can breed in salt or brackish water.