Refraction Anomalies in Tanganyikan Children

THE present study was undertaken as an extension of work previously reported in which a high incidence of refractive errors was found in Gogo school children at Mvumi (McLaren, 1960). Areas SurveyedDuring 1961, school children aged 8 to 14 years were examined in six different areas of the Central, Lake, and West Lake Provinces of Tanganyika.Those in the neighbourhood of Mwanza (Lake Province) and Mvumi (Central Province) formed part of the group previously reported.Mvumi has suffered from famine intermittently for many years.The latest famine occurred in 1953-54, so that children aged 8 to 14 had passed through the famine, some of them during their infancy.This is of interest because of the possible influence of nutritional status upon the incidence and degree of refractive errors in a community.It was difficult to find another area comparable to Mvumi, but two schools (Sepuka and Munangana) in the Singida district (Central Province) were found to have a similar background in that there is intermittent famine and the economy is based mainly upon cattle raising; the diet is largely cereal (maize, millet, and sorghum) with very little meat or fish, cattle being regarded as wealth and seldom slaughtered.During the time of this study, Sepuka and Munangana (referred to below as "Singida II") were under- going partial famine due to drought.Children at two other schools sur- veyed in the Singida district (Kiomboi and Kinambeu) had a much more varied diet; they are referred to below as "Singida I".A single school was surveyed near Shinyanga (Lake Province); here the climate is hot and dry but the diet is more varied than in Mvumi.It is not in a famine area and cattle raising is common.Four schools were surveyed near Bukoba (West Lake Province); here the climate is considerably wetter than in Mwanza (mean annual rainfall 35") and the diet consists mainly of bananas.