Palestine Threatened by Malaria Epidemic, Ask Hadassah to Send D.d.t. and Penicillin

Malaria is still a menace in Palestine, and a widespread epidemic is threatened as a result of recent heavy rains, Dr. Abraham Katznelson, head of the Health Department of the Jewish National Council, said today.

He revealed that a cable has been sent to the Hadassah Organization in the United States urging it to ship ten tons of D.D.T. powder, the new insecticide developed by the U.S. Army, and also penicillin.

Dr. Katznelson reported that Palestine Jewish health groups have done much to combat malaria among troops in Italy and Burma, and Lieut. Col. G. Mehr, Jewish anti-malarial expert and one of the world’s greatest experts in the field, is now in Burma.

He disclosed that the Jewish National Council has submitted a memorandum to the Palestine Government demanding that the latter contribute fifty percent towards maintenance of the Jewish community’s health facilities. The memorandum pointed out that while in most modern countries there are five hospital beds available for every 1,000 persons, in Palestine there are only two per each 1,000 residents.

It was also announced today that Palestine-made thermometers will soon be on the market, following many months of experiments at the Hebrew University. They will be manufactured under the supervision of Prof. Farkas of the university. There is no other thermometer plant in the Middle East.

Dr. Ibrahim Elab Aldin, head of the Palestine Government’s Health Department, will represent Palestine physicians at an international medical congress in Teheran in July, it was learned today.

It is not yet known whether any Jewish physicians from Palestine will be invited, although world-famous refugee physicians residing here have converted Palestine into the foremost medical center in the Middle East.