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Show Roving Laboratory To Spend Next Two Years Fighting Disease In Nigeria "The problem we have to face," said Dr. Francis Bourrey, leaning against one of two huge silver-colored trucks towering above him in a Paris garage, "is to hunt up sick people ourselves, our-selves, instead of waiting for them to come to us." Dr. Bourrey was speaking as president of the Social Affairs commission of the Assembly of the French Union, where he represents rep-resents French Nigeria. As the result of his efforts, a travelling X-ray laboratory and doctor's office will spend the next 2Vz years picking its way over dirt roads of French Nigeria to track down the country's coun-try's sore spots of disease and ill-health. The roving laboratory belongs to the people of Nigeria, the national na-tional assembly of French Nigeria Ni-geria haying voted to finance the purchase of he two trucks and their equipment. They left France in late April and were due to report for work in Nigeria Ni-geria early in June. Dr. Bourrey led the way inside in-side one of the huge seven-ton vehicles and pointed to a map of French Nigeria on the wall of the room which will serve as office for Dr. Claude Vigan, chief of the missipn, He ran his hand over the interior of the country, where roads were only faint dotted lines. "Here is where the mission is going," he said. "There are from 500,000 to 600,000 people living here, many of them as nomads. no-mads. We plan to map this area again, but on the basis of where its popualtion is in the greatest need of medical care. Then we can go in and build hospitals where they will do the most good." The mobile laboratory's first mission is to combat tuberculosis tubercu-losis and syphilis. To accomplish its task, the crew has at its disposal dis-posal X-ray facilities equal to those found in many permanent hospitals, as well as supplies of penicillin. |