Some considerations of the effects of certain African diseases on the health of the population
Abstract
Although for long now we have been acquainted
with the many diseases occurring in Africa, yet,
as our experience grows, we find the subject by
no means easy. For instance, one might think
that by now we should know all about the clinical
effects of malaria on this continent, yet, when
the experiences of the different workers in
tropical Africa are pooled, one finds so many
conflicting opinions that one begins to wonder
if our knowledge is really much further advanced
than it was some 70 years ago, when we
first began to study the disease microscopically.
But in spite of this we have advanced considerably.
The mistake made in the past, and still being
made in some quarters to-day, when assessing
the effects of the diseases, was to look upon them
as separate entities instead of viewing the picture
as a whole, since the majority of African subjects
suffer from more than one ailment at a
time.