The MTOC was informed at meeting 8/72 held on 1st September, 1972, that "Parts of Zone 8 and 9 were missed, and the whole of Zones 13, 14 and 16 were missed, being due for spraying during July and August" (from Agenda Item 43/72).

Zones 9, 13 and 14 are, fortunately, areas of very low transmission. In Zone 9 there have been no malaria cases since February 1972. In Zone 13 case detection is poor but in December the first case since February 1971 was detected. Similarly in Zone 14 case detection is poor but in both November and December a malaria case was detected, these are the first cases since May 1971.

In Zone 8 the number of cases has been at a high level since April 1972 with a Slide Positivity Rate (SPR) of 13.6% in August and a provisional level of 6.8% in December.

In Zone 16 the SPR has risen from a low level throughout 1971 and early 1972 to a level of 10.7% in September and provisionally 6.7% and 7.9% in November and December respectively.

I refer you to items 17/71 of meeting 3/71, specifically on the referral of major policy decisions to the MTOC, and 7/72 of meeting 3/72 on "Function and membership of MTOC". Despite the clear statements on the policy-making and decisive role of the MTOC it was not consulted with regard to the operational policy change referred to in my first paragraph.

This is by no means an uncommon situation and I instance memorandum 20/1.6/1-20 of 4th January 1973 which contains instructions for the missing out of certain areas of the Western District from the current spraying cycle.

The important thing is to maintain a maximum interval between spraying cycles of six months and not to attempt to regain a disrupted schedule, the next cycle is the one to be adjusted not the current one.

Dr. B. Taylor
Government Entomologist
8.1.73

href="\malaria\malaria3.htm"