Karkar and Lufa: an epidemiological and health background to the human adaptability studies of the International Biological Programme

Abstract

Assessments of the health standards of the population of two village complexes, selected for investigation in the I.B.P. Human Adaptability Studies in New Guinea, have been made. These investigations have been extended on Karkar to perm it a study of epidemiological patterns on the whole island. The observations at Lufa have been made in conjunction with investigations of health in the general area of the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea. Chronic degenerative diseases were uncommon in both locations and particularly noteworthy was the absence of the diseases commonly associated with Western society, such as hypertension, arteriosclerosis, diabetes mellitus and gout. The incidence of chronic infectious diseases in both localities has been influenced by the available health services and the duration of Western contact. The warm, moist climate on Karkar creates an environment which is suitable for the existence of mosquitoes and the presence of endemic malaria contrasts with the infrequent sporadic cases of this disease at Lufa. Differences in the prevalence of certain other infections may also be the result of climatic variations, e.g. the prevalence of certain alimentary parasites, of yaws and of some skin diseases. Tuberculosis is quite prevalent on Karkar and absent at Lufa. Clinical evidence of malnutrition was not prominent in either location although occasionally encountered at Lufa. Anaemia was an almost universal finding on Karkar and, although neither as severe nor as common, was also seen at Lufa. Various investigations have been undertaken to account for the basis of the anaemia, which appears to be principally due to iron deficiency aggravated by chronic m alaria and alimentary parasitaemia. The only other evidence of a deficiency disease was the presence of goitre in significant numbers of young women on Karkar. The normal range of a number of biochemical fractions in the serum has been established for both populations and these can be compared with those in other societies.