Page 112 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 12(1) (2024)

tions: What led to the outbreak of trypanosomi- conclusion of the study, which highlights the key
asis in Asante? How did the Native Authority issues arising from the discussions of the find-
or traditional leadership, together with indige- ings from the data sources.
nous practitioners, deal with the disease? How
did British colonial policies and the adminis- Trypanosomiasis in Asante (1900–1957)
tration in particular collaborate and co-oper- By 1903, the case and vector of human trypanoso-
ate with the indigenous people to combat the miasis, which is also known as sleeping sickness,
disease? What were the post-colonial strategies was known. Though the disease is an ancient one,
that were put in place to prevent and combat since the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, its
the disease within the socio-economic spaces of basic behaviour has been the same (PRAAD
Ghana and Asante in particular? Among other Kumase MAG1/1/4 Kumase Public Health
things, the objectives of this study include the Board Gold Coast Colony, Estimates of revenue
112 following: to bring to light the origin of trypa- and Expenditure, 1927–1928). The late discovery
nosomiasis in Asante and to highlight the roles of the disease in Asante can be attributed to the
played by the existing traditional institutions fact that the disease was not endemic in the terri-
studia universitatis hereditati, letnik 12 (2024), številka 1 / volume 12 (2024), number 1
and practitioners to curb the spread of the dis- tory. A letter from the chief commissioner to the
ease, and finally, to highlight the collaborative governor on the general health condition in As-
efforts of th e colonial administration and the ante reported that investigation by the medical
traditional authority within Asante to combat authorities showed that there was a considerably
trypanosomiasis. greater spread of sleeping sickness in the coun-
Methodically, this study is based on a quali- try before it was recognized by the local popu-
tative approach. Information from both primary lation. In areas where the disease was endemic,
and secondary sources were used to supplement natives recognized the symptoms. Reference can
the research. Primary sources were gathered from be made to the northern territories where na-
the Public Records and Archive Administration tives in places like Wenchi, Yeji, and Kintam-
Department both at the Regional (Kumase) and po had considerable knowledge about the insect
National level (Accra) as well the Manhyia Pal- and the type of disease it caused (PRAAD, Ku-
ace archives in Kumase. The data gathered sup- mase, ARG 1/14/16, Captain Beal’s Report on
ported the discussion concerning trypanoso- losses Amongst Cattle Brought to the Coast Al-
miasis in Asante and its associated policies in leged to be due to Trypanosomiasis, 1926). Un-
combatting the spread of the disease. Howev- like Gambia, Uganda, and Nigeria, the disease
er, data was also gleaned from internet sources. was minimal in the Gold Coast and in Asante
These books and articles provided useful infor- in particular, compared to the other colonies, ac-
mation for the study. The data from both the pri- cording to Dr Marshall. The tsetse fauna in the
mary and secondary sources have been analysed Gold Coast and the other colonies were differ-
and presented thematically to reflect the histo- ent. Elaborating on this he argued that, most of
ry of trypanosomiasis in Asante within the co- the flies’ habitats in East Africa were dominated
2
lonial period and how the same is relevant in the by Glossina morsitans which carries the trypa-
twenty-first century. nosomes that are deadly in animals. However, in

Discussions
The discussions hereunder are captured under
the following themes: trypanosomiasis in As- 2 Glossina morsitan is a tsetse group species which do not live
in the wettest areas, but are present throughout much of
ante from 1900 to 1957, colonial strategies and the Savannah. Their distribution appears to be limited in
collaboration with the indigenous people in cold regions like South Africa, Zambia, and Botswana and
the hot dry season in the North [north?] of West and Cen-
combatting the Asante trypanosomiasis, and the tral Africa (Encyclopaedia Britannica n.d.a)