'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎140r] (284/470)

(iv) Extension and enforcement of present scheme of notification of births.
(v) Appointment of two additional women health visitors—who will act as
inspectors of midwives, and advise on infant care and domestic sanitation generally.
(30) Venereal Disease. —An enquiry was conducted in July and August by the
Civil Surgeon, in conjunction with the Health Officer, into the incidence of venereal
disease among the prostitutes in Basrah and 161 women and girls were examined.
Twenty clinical cases of primary or secondary syphilis were discovered (Wassermann
reaction not being done), together with 102 cases—62 per cent.—of gonorrhoea, all
diagnosed by bacteriological examination and most showing obvious clinical signs
also.
(31) It was felt that the concentration of the majority of the prostitutes into
one quarter, and the comparatively small amount of irregular intercourse among the
women outside the quarter, rendered the problem of the control of venereal disease
easier than in a European community. Accordingly, proposals were again put
forward for the institution of periodical inspections of these women, combined with
treatment in a lock hospital; a house was taken for this purpose, but the scheme is
not yet working owing to the lack of suitable staff.
(32) Collection of Refuse. —For the purpose of street cleaning, ‘Ashar and Basrah
towns are divided into nine districts, over each of which is placed an Arab Jamadar
responsible for the sweeper personnel. A reduction has been made in the number
of Jamadars without any detriment to the results obtained, owing to the fact that
Arab supervisory labour of this class does not prove very satisfactory.
(33) The same type of refuse bin (a galvanised iron sheet rolled on itself) is in
use in the streets as in previous years. Refuse is collected from these bins twice or
three times daily, and is taken on carts or on donkeys or mules from ‘Ashar to the
incinerating grounds in the cemetery, and from Basrah to one or other of the seven
dumping grounds, five of which are provided with incinerators. The average amount
of rubbish so collected daily amounts to 131 donkey loads and 25 cart loads in
‘Ashar and 173 donkey loads and 30 cart loads in Basrah—or, roughly, 35 tons per
day.
(34) Destruction of Refuse. —Refuse thus collected is dealt with in ‘Ashar on
the open ground adjoining the civil cemetery, on one closed and five open grid
incinerators; a satisfactory though bulky ash remains and is used in reclaiming
low-lying ground in the neighbourhood. During the year some 7,000 cart loads and
26,000 donkey loads were thus dumped, and an extensive area adjoining the butchery
was raised above flood level.
(35) In Basrah a portion of the refuse is directly dumped without incineration,
but the greater part first goes through incinerators; as, in ‘Ashar, low-lying ground
is chosen for this work—a departure from the Turkish practice which resulted in
the building up of several mounds on the town outskirts—and the dumping areas
have been so chosen that the completed work lessens opportunities for fly-breeding,
widens the road or prepares sites for future buildings. ,
(36) In April it became necessary on account of the prevalence of glanders to
remove the gharri horses from their stables in the city and collect them, to the number
of 300 in lines between ‘Ashar and Basrah. As horse manure is not much used in
the date gardens, the sanitary disposal of the litter was an important point, and
300 square feet of grid incinerator were asked for. Pending completion of this, the
litter has been in part burnt on the neighbouring refuse incinerator and the rest
has been dumped in nullahs and covered with earth; an attempt made to secure the
biological treatment by close packing was abandoned owing to the lack of intelligent
supervision One further difficulty always met with in the Basrah stables arises
from the practice of keeping a certain amount of litter on the premises as bedding
for the animals, straw not being available.
(37) The ‘objections to the indefinite continuance of the present method of
refuse disposal are obvious, and a scheme for the installation of refuse bins in the
houses instead of the streets, for the carriage of refuse by light railway to a point
on the desert outside Basrah City, and for its incineration there m high temperature
destructors is under consideration. It must be pointed out, however, that, although
such a scheme is scientifically sound and would add to the amenities of the town,
its adoption would result in a heavy initial outlay as well as a greater cost of upkeep.
F rp o
X IO 1162—1