- 83 -The supervision of these midwives is ongoing to ensure they adhere to the principles by which they operate. Some of the provinces are filling in harmful ponds in the villages. The matter of ponds with owners is currently under consideration. 65 ponds have been filled in, at a cost of £2,000. The land reclaimed from them has been given to the villagers in which they are located to serve as areas for recreation and exercise.

In the budgets of most municipal councils, funds are allocated for carrying out such works in the current year. Among the ponds filled in 1912 were two very large ones. I hope that filling in ponds will improve health in the villages where they are located, and close supervision is ongoing to determine whether filling in ponds affects health improvement or not.

42 - Plague The incidence of plague in 1912 decreased significantly in the number of affected places, the number of cases, and the mortality rate. The following table compares the reports from last year and the year before: | Year | Infected Places | Total Cases | Average per Place | Deaths | Mortality Rate (%) | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1911 | 153 | 1656 | 10.8 | 178 | 62.9 | | 1912 | 139 | 884 | 6.4 | 114 | 44.1 | Pulmonary plague cases, which are almost exclusively confined to Upper Egypt, decreased by more than a third. This is the reason for the decrease in deaths.

The number of staff specialized in combating plague remained the same for most of the year. When there was no need for plague control, they focused on combating other infectious diseases such as typhus and smallpox. The Plague Research Institute, established in Assiut in 1911 under the direction of Dr. Petri, continues its research. It has succeeded in 7 imported diseases, particularly focusing on...