§ 33. Mr. Sorensenasked the Secretary of State for India if he will state the number of deaths due to malaria and cholera for each quarter from 1938 to the present time; the amount of anti-malarial drugs available during 1944; the total consumption of such drugs annually before the war; and the latest figures for death rates and infantile mortality, if possible distinguishing those due to malaria and cholera.
§ Mr. AmeryI am circulating the detailed information regarding anti-malarial drugs in the OFFICIAL REPORT. I am asking the Government of India how far they can supply the remainder of the information asked for.
§ Mr. SorensenWill the right hon. Gentleman say whether malaria and cholera have decreased or increased in the last two years?
§ Mr. AmeryThere was a temporary increase in Bengal after the famine period, and that has been very substantially reduced since. I could not give the figures for the whole of India.
§ Following is the information:
§ Of synthetic anti-malarial drugs 491½ million tablets were shipped to India in 1943. The shipments in 1944 to date total 632½ million tablets, in addition to 1,000 lbs. of totaquina. Quinine stocks in India in April, 1944, were 244,000 lbs. Indian pre-war production of quinine was 90,000 lbs. a year and is increasing. Pre-war consumption of quinine was about 200,000 lbs. a year and of synthetic antimalarial drugs negligible.