Bilharziasis survey in British West and East Africa, Nyasaland and the Rhodesias.

The author, in his capacity as a WHO consultant, undertook a survey of bilharziasis in British West and East Africa and Nyasaland during 1950-51. The information thus obtained has been revised and brought up to date and is recorded in the present article together with similar observations on Northern Rhodesia, which was not visited, and on Southern Rhodesia, the author's own country. In Part I, each country is dealt with in turn. The history of the disease and the findings of field surveys are reviewed, and, wherever possible, personal observations have been included. The fact that the information is of a scanty and incomplete nature is an indication that further local studies in all areas are badly needed. In Part II an attempt is made to survey the situation from the point of view of the various aspects of the subjects-methods of obtaining morbidity data, intensity of infection, effects of the disease on human health, treatment, and the molluscan vectors.