"A rural area 23 miles south of Chingleput has recently been chosen for experimental work and nine villages selected in which to commence intensive work. There are nine villages in the group. The total population of the group is 4,894 and 177 people were detected with leprosy. Two plots of land have been selected within two miles of the villages surveyed and on one, administrative treatment and staff blocks have been built. On the other plot, the houses for segregating infectious cases from the villages will be built. The group of buildings consisting of the staff houses, laboratory and centre are separated by the road from the area which will be known as the segregation village. As a first step after choosing the area in which concentrated work was to be undertaken, we verified the preliminary survey figures and a much more intensive investigation is now in progress. For this purpose, the largest village in the area, Polambakkam, has first been chosen. Every house in each street is systematically visited and every person examined. Thus as far as possible, the conditions under which the villages live will be ascertained.

After the intensive survey has been completed, an attempt to segregate all infectious cases among males will begin. These will be expected to stay in the segregation area, but if their employment is such as not to endanger the health of the community (especially children), they will be allowed to continue their work, provided they return to the Segregation Camp to sleep at night. The difficulty of segregating both men and women in the same area will be apparent and the impossibility of adequate village segregation for the infected child is obvious, therefore the infected cases among children and women will be transferred, where possible to the lady Willingdon Leprosy Sanitarium. In so far as the crippled cases must be cared for, all such will be asked to live in the segregation area so that their ulcers may be looked after, and thus an alternative to institutional segregation for these cases, we hope will be found.

By this method of partial segregation, it is hoped that leprosy will come under control, in the selected group of villages. If the scheme is successful, it will point the way to a possible method of control in rural areas of the Presidency."