Public holidays in South Sudan

Transcription

[The "Zumarama Group" Presents: Reconnaissance for Yellow Fever in the Nuba Mountains of Southern Sudan, 1954 Filmed by Telford H. Work, 1954 Edited by Martine Jozan] [Credits Script: Martine Jozan Script Consultant: Malvin Wald Technical Advisor: Alan Wald Video Transfer: Nick Sahakian, John Sellars Voice Over: John Blaylock Narration reconstructed from the diaries of Richard Moreland Taylor] Yellow fever has been the scourge of Africa since the 15th century, according to oral accounts of early epidemics. [Map of Africa showing areas affected by yellow fever.] This virus disease is transmitted by mosquitoes. Man, other primates, and some mammals are the reservoir. Historically, yellow fever has remained endemic in the rain forest zone favorable to its maintenance cycle between the latitudes of fifteen degrees north and fifteen degrees south. [Map of Africa with Sudan outlined in red.] Yet, as of now, this zone is still expanding south into arid habitats. In southern Sudan, the Nuba Mountains are home to a population which, despite its geographic and social isolation, has been repeatedly visited by the virus since 1934. The largest ever epidemic occurred in 1940 with 20,000 cases reported and a mortality of up to 20 percent. The disease became endemic and kept creeping south. At the Naval Medical Research Unit-3 in Cairo, Egypt, scientists from the Rockefeller Foundation were actively engaged in the study of West Nile and other arboviruses. [Image of NAMRU facility.] It was thus decided to undertake a reconnaissance in southern Sudan. The objective was twofold: to determine if there had been yellow fever transmission subsequent to 1940, and then find out if the galago, a primate common in tropical Africa, plays a role as a reservoir south of the recognized endemic zone. [Map of Sudan in yellow , with major cities identified by red dots.] The opportunity for such investigation was provided by Dr. Mansour, professor of microbiology at the School of Medicine in Khartoum and the Sudan Veterinary Services. [Illustration of Sudanese territory with images of various birds and mammals and the locations of Khartoum, other key cities, and Dinder National Park identified.] They were undertaking the extermination of all warm- blooded animals in an attempt to eradicate the tsetse fly south of the Bahr el Arab by eliminating the source of blood meals. The fly, which transmitts Trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness, had been responsible for high mortality in cattle. [Photograph of the tsetse fly, as well as a map of Africa with areas where sleeping sickness is endemic colored in red.] As a result, whole populations of nilotic, indigenous people fled southern Sudan. By interrupting the breeding cycle, it was hoped that people would return to the area and raise cattle, a source of beef which could be exported via Khartoum and Port Sudan. The NAMRU team went along with the veterinarian teams in charge of eliminating wild animals, and canvassed the area from El Obeid to Gogrial, making blood collections from humans and various species of primates. Eleven villages were visited. [Yellow map of Sudan with villages to be visited marked with a red dot and identified by name.] As the DC progresses up the Nile, a golden mosaic of canyons and twisted earth unfolds. This is the Nubian Desert, a mystical palate of ochres and shadows transfixed by the abysmal gorge of the river. [Aerial images of Sudan.] The perpetuity of these arid horizons seems to float in a reddish haze of light, heat and dust. Much of this is now under the waters of Lake Nasser because the Aswan Dam was built in the sixties. The city of Khartoum was built in 1821 by the Egyptian army. Its name means "elephant trunk" because here the Blue Nile concludes its tumultuous descent from the highlands of Ethiopia and meets in a sweeping curve, the White Nile flowing from Uganda. [Aerial images of Khartoum.] Adjacent to the desert are the irrigated farms of the people who live on the banks of the Nile. [Aerial images of irrigated farmland.] The confluence takes place under the bridge linking Khartoum to the industrial hub of Omdurman. [Aerial image of bridge.] The color contrast is noteworthy. These ancient falouccas are still the main means of transport along and across the river. [Images of small sailing vessels on the river.] Lord Kitchener relieved the British forces led by Gordon and besieged in Khartoum for ten months by the Mahdi. [Statue of Lord Kitchener.] Chinese Gordon, so nicknamed because of his heroic Crimean campaigns, remained defiant until the final assault and was killed. Both statues were removed when the Sudan gained its independence. [Statue of Chinese Gordon atop a camel.] The tomb of the Mahdi is on the other side of the river in Omdurman. It is a holy place of pilgrimage for the Moslem Sudanese. The blue cupola is topped by the Moslem crescent penetrated by a spear which is the emblem of the Mahdi himself. In front of the laboratory, equipment is loaded onto a Jeep. It is loaned by the U.S. Map Service. They are busy mapping the continent of Africa from Cape to Cairo in preparation for the first space flight around the world. Wherever the British arrived, they developed the railway network, and such was the case for Sudan. Khartoum became the hub and a transport point for the Red Sea and Port Sudan. [Image of Jeep being loaded onto flatbed for transport.] Two other spurs went respectively north to Darfur and south to Kordofan and El Obeid. All heavy equipment must be hoisted on a flat bed. This Electrolux refrigerator is operated with kerosene and will be indispensable for storage of field-collected specimens. [Image of wooden crate containing a refrigerator being hoisted onto flatbed.] The microbiology department involved in tropical disease research has utilized the railroad system for transporting a laboratory car to various parts of Sudan. Personal effects and more fragile equipment are loaded in this car which will be pooled at the end of the railway. The tarpaulin will provide shelter when specimens are being brought from the bush. This magnificent steam locomotive will reach El Obeid at the top speed of thirty five miles an hour and there will be only a few places to fill up the water tank. The engineers are putting the last nurturing touches of oil. Recommendations are made. Everything is checked to ensure a safe voyage. The two hundred and fifty mile train journey ends at El Obeid in central Sudan. This is a road and caravan junction on the migration paths from west Africa. This is also the end of the railroad and from there the two thousand mile inland trek to the Nuba Mountains will be on a dirt and sand road, too hard or too soft for driving comfort. [Music] Short grass savannah, thorny bushes, acacias are the main features of the Kordofan province. As the train stops to take on water, the steam is converted to hot water for tea. This truck, taking an audacious turn, is heavily loaded with equipment and personal baggage from the laboratory car. It also carries the field assistants. Kasha is the first Nuba village to be reached. Its round huts gripping the flanks of a volcanic outcrop are typical. Such hillocks cover approximately three thousand square miles and range from three hundred to thirty six hundred feet in height. Women are returning to the village carrying water collected from far away in large gourds. Their elongated silhouettes are astonishingly regal and beautiful. The Nuba people have been victims of Arab slave traders for centuries and have learned how to protect themselves in these tiny villages, tucked among forbidding cliffs and peaks. Water comes from springs and percolation pockets. Some tribes have remained isolated from each other with little or no social interaction. They speak close to a hundred different dialects. The Nuba are essentially farmers. They are animists and worship their cattle which they believe harbor the ghost of their ancestor, therefore, it will be rarely sacrificed for food. These are some of the boys from whom it would be desirable to obtain a blood sample to determine whether they have antibodies to yellow fever which would reflect transmission since 1940. To befriend the population is a task greatly facilitated by the presence of Dr. Mansour who is Sudanese and speaks the language. These young warriors have sophisticated mohawks which accentuate the beauty of their profiles. They often wear on their chest a leather pouch which contains a few verses of the Koran. This is for good luck. Every man carries a spear which is used mostly for cultivating but also for hunting. Both men and women undergo painful scarifications for cosmetic purposes. It is also a test of courage and stoicism for the young adults. Skins incisions are made with sharp knives, thorns or pieces of glass rubbed with dirt. hese wounds are left to fester producing the raised scar known as keloids. In women, elaborate patterns are added for each major life event, such as puberty, marriage, and the birth of children. [Music] In Talodi, word is passed onto the chief without whom nothing could be accomplished. A suitable explanation must be provided in order to bleed the population. Dr. Taylor is an old hand at yellow fever, having been the director of the yellow fever laboratory in Rio de Janeiro and ultimately, at the Rockefeller Institute in New York. He is an expert at coercing smiles from these young children. The operation is supervised with great interest. Four children, twelve and thirteen years old, tested positive in the foothills of the Nuba Mountains. This demonstrated that yellow fever transmission had occurred after 1940. This little primate with globulous eyes and long fingers is a Galago or bush baby. It is nocturnal and sleeps during the day in tree hollows. Local boys will capture them at night by harassing them in the trees where they are feeding. The hussar monkey is so named after his red coat and because he marches in open spaces with military precision. He is one of the less common primates of tropical Africa. The Baggara or cattlemen are nomadic decendents of 14th century Bedouin invaders. A baobab tree breaks the monotony of their journey. It is home to many animals, and people store water inside its trunk. The pulp of its fruit is commonly used to treat diarrhea. The Baggara migrate from western Africa during the dry season. They congregate around the depressions called Wadi where water accumulates all year round. What role these people play in transport of yellow fever is unknown. This large herd of cattle has traveled nearly one thousand miles and it represents many breeds. The black Zebu from India with a typical hump has large round white horns. The Ankoli-Watusi is a mix of Zebu and a local African breed. Its large extended horns are reminiscent of the Texas longhorn. This is the home of the Dinka who belong to the River Lake Nilotes, the largest ethnic group in southern Sudan. Tending goats, sheep, and cattle is their primary activity. In this area, water is extracted from fifteen to twenty feet deep wells and transported for storage into large troughs. Branches and leaves are used as a filter. Mosquito larvae can be found on the surface. There was no time to investigate these mosquitoes, which are important vectors of jungle yellow fever. For the Baggara, the ox is a common means of transportation and replaces the horse which would not survive in this ecology because of the tsetse fly- transmitted diseases. Again, everyone carries a spear for protection from lions but also from cattle raiders and other possible rogues. The procession meanders through in the savannah interspersed with the cautious. [Music] These guinea fowl are scampering when the truck appears. This is probably the most common animal of the area and it provides the meat that could not be carried on the trip. This Cercopithecus Aethiops is a common resident of the jungle. A blood sample will be obtained during its necropsy. It is possible to draw about sixty milliliters from the heart of warm-blooded animals up to two hours after death. Specimens collected in the first fifteen days of this investigation were driven to Wau on ice for air shipment to Khartoum and proper storage until the return to Egypt. A total of one hundred and ten primates were collected. Seventy to eighty percent of the grivets and ninety percent of the baboons had antibody to yellow fever. The number of positive galagos and red hussar was below six percent regardless of the area, therefore, these two primates were not a significant virus reservoir. The Bar el Arab is very low because of the lateness of the dry season, but it still requires a ferry to reach the Mayem Mission. It is the most southern point of this reconnaisance. Here the rainfall can reach forty inches as compared to thirteen in northern Sudan. Lakes, water holes, and marshes abound. [Image of Jeep crossing body on water on partial causeway made of thatch and sticks, and onto a ferry.] The curiosity of the Dinka people does not abate as the Jeep makes its way to the mission. Our knowledge about the role played by wild birds in circulating many viruses transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks has accumulated for fifty years since the inception of the Rockefeller program. Here are ibis, stilts, and egrets feeding togther. Egrets, of course, are involved in the Japanese B-West Nile virus complex scenario which was to unfold in Egypt, and later on was to be recognized in Asia. The whale head stork, also known as shoebill stork, has a melancholic pause for the photographer. It beauty is debatable. It possesses an enormous bill with a hook to dig for lungfish, frogs, and other delicacies. Two crested cranes are parading their colorful elegance. They are considered sacred and can only belong to kings. These giraffes have escaped the veterinary hunters. This is baboon country. These flooded areas constitute the Sudd from which the name Sudan comes from. It is a band one hundred miles long. It becomes inundated during the rainy season, as the water flows from Lake Victoria and into the Nile, becoming a regular river. It will subsequently reach the Mediterranean, four thousand miles further north. Thompson gazelles appear at sunset. Here is the residue of inundated marshlands. It's a mecca for all kinds of water birds who spend a good deal of their life feeding on the fish and other life essential to their survival. When the animals are killed, their skin is removed, saturated with insecticides, and put on a frame to attract the tsetse flies. They will die upon feeding on this poison. This is another strategy to break the tripanosome cycle of transmission. Behind these Dinka are termite mounds. The material extracted from these mounds becomes very adhesive when wet and can be used to build houses. Two marabout storks comtemplate their domain. They have a pompous gait which gave them the nickname of adjutant storks. Their formidable bill makes them a successful and rarely-challenged scavenger even for these vultures which abound in the region. A new village is being established. The building of these houses is undertaken by men only. Some are loosening the dirt from termites' mounds. Others are mixing it with sand in a water pit. The chief is supervising. A very well dressed Dinka wears three strings of beads, otherwise, these people, well adapted to the hot climate of Sudan, wear no clothes. This social affair is carried at a leisurely pace. A dragon lizard is worried by all this effervescence. He might lose his abode. [Clapping] The huts have a roof made of straw. It is supported by a frame to which the clay is applied in long and consistent strokes. This is a slow process to ensure that all the nooks and crannies are filled. When the appropriate thickness of coat has been achieved, a process of rubbing and smoothing takes place. At the end, the wall will have the blue shine of a ceramic glaze. But, even in these houses, people are exposed to mosquito bites during the rainy season. The journey ends in Wau from which the specimens will be dispatched to Khartoum for storage. Neutralization tests were performed on six hundred and sixty-six human sera. They showed that the percentage of yellow fever positive samples was higher in the south in the Bar el Arab area. In the age group of fifteen years and over, the reactors were eighty percent and thirty percent, respectively. The occurrence of positive children and young primates proved that since 1940, yellow fever had become endemic in southern Sudan. The seasonal shifting of cattle and people combined with roaming bands of grivet monkeys provided all the necessary ingredients for virus re-introduction and maintenance of the transmission cycle. It is now time to return to El Obeid with a last glimpse of the wildlife of tropical southern Sudan. In Wau, this DC3 is the workhorse for transport in more remote areas. It will bring the cargo of precious specimens to Khartoum. There is a last look at Khartoum in its magical robe of sands and at the Blue Nile which separates the tropical areas of southern Sudan from the north and upper Egypt. [End. Original 16mm footage transfered to digital prior to editing. Copyright: Work Family Estate and National Library of Medicine, Historical Collections.]