Portland Observer, October 8,1961 Page 9
Fungai Kumbula completes medical studies |Ie
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The Best Priced I
A schistosoma la a parasite found
in dirty water in some parts o f A f
rica. including Zimbabwe. The par
asite can enter the hum an body
where it completes its life-cycle and
can then be returned to the water
should the affected in d ivid u al re
lieve h im self close to a riv er or
stream. Another victim, wading or
bathing in the now contam inated
water w ill pick up the eggs o f the
schistosome and so the parasite pro
liferates.
W h ile passing through these
‘ k in d ’ and u n w ittin g hosts, the
parasite lodges in the intestine and
feeds on the host’s cells causing a
debilitating sickness called schisto
somiasis or bilharzia. Symptoms o f
(his dreaded tropical disease include
blood in the urine, weight loss and
extrem e tiredness. As is to be ex
pected, the majority o f this disease’s
victims are rural Blacks, particularly
in regards to Zimbabwe. Successive
white minority regimes deliberately
neglected schistosomiasis because it
only affected A frican s and , in a
way, that was one method o f "con
trolling the Africans.”
In the immunology laboratory at
the C harles D rew Postgraduate
Medical School, Fungai Kum bula,
recent graduate o f Po rtlan d State
U niversity and The P o r tla n d O b
s e rv e r'i A frican affairs editor, has
started work that he hopes will re
verse the spread o f the schistosoma.
Since the beginning o f July, he has
been doing an internship in medical
research at the Charles Drew M edi
cal School which is a ffilia te d with
the M artin Luther King Hospital in
south-central Los Angeles.
" T h is internship is the most im
p o rtan t thing I have done since I
first popped into this w orld,’ ’ as he
studies the results o f an immunoas
say experim ent he had just com
pleted.
. .
**I can honestly say that in the
past five weeks that I have been
here, I have learned almost as much
i f not more than I did in the four
years I was at P S U ,” Fungai con
tinues. " T h e m ajor difference now
is that I am doing the actual work,
the actual research, and it has
Hair Cut Rag 420 N ow
turned out to be a lot more fun and
a lot more fascinating and challen
ging than 1 had ever though it would
be. Best o f a ll, it has restored my
confidence in what I can do and also
shown me my weaknesses. I feel
much better prepared and a lot more
con fid en t now than I did when I
stepped out o f PS U ‘ fo r the last
time.’ ”
Most o f the work that Fungai has
done to date has been in cancer re
search and sickle-cell disease re
search. It has involved getting blood
samples from hospital patients with
either cancer or sickle cell and com
paring them to samples from nor
mal or healthy individuals. In the case
o f cancer, the cells from heaithy in
dividuals were treated with carcin
ogens, cancer causing chemicals, to
find out what causes the cells to be
come cancerous.
From these experiments which, as
much as possible, try to im itate
what goes on in the hum an body,
the researchers can fin d out why
people contract cancer and, hope
fully, what can be done to eradicate
this the second leading killer in this
country.
The sickle-cell research follows
pretty much along the same lines:
taking samples from healthy in d i
viduals and com paring them to
sickled cells to fin d out why and
FUNGAI K U M B U LA
what can be done to prevent cells
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
fro m sickling. It is now a w ell-
known fact, for one thing, that sick
eating it but m aking it a little bit
tor w ill also know what to expect
le-cell anemia evolved as a defense
and be ready.
more manageable. The future looks
against m a laria fever which was
promising.
Says Fungai taking another sam
claim ing a lot o f lives am ong the
A n o th er aspect o f m edical re
ple out o f the centrifuge, “ The peo
West Africans. People who got the
search being carried on in the im
ple in this lab have been w onder
disease— sickle-cell, that is— more
fu l.”
munology lab at Charles Drew is cy
often than not were liable to suc
togenetics and chromosonal analy
On September 15th, Kum bula re
cumb before the age o f thirty.
sis. This involves taking samples,
turned to Zimbabwe to set up an im
Those who did not get the disease
a m n io tic flu id , from expectant
munology research lab. " I t w ill be
were just as likely to succumb from
mothers and examining the chromo
quite a challenge but after this intern
the malaria which was caused by a
sones to see if the baby will be born
ship, I feel I am as ready as I will ever
parasite called a tse-tse fly . B ut,
healthy or what b irth defects it
be. More than likely I will be return
those individuals who only got the
might have. It also enables the re
ing to Charles Drew next summer and
•r«it— that is, one normal gene and
searcher to tell what sex the baby
p robably fo r many summers a fte r
one sickled gene— were im m une
will be. Since this analysis is done
that for this very special continuing
from malaria. Because it is a genetic
long before the baby is due, it gives
education series. Research is that
disease, how ever, sickle cell has
the parents tim e to decide i f they
kind o f field where I will be learning
been impossible to eradicate thus
want to have the baby should they
all my life doing my bit to make Zim
fa r. Recent research has shown
be informed that it will have this or
babwe a healthier nation and so con
promising signs o f not quite eradi-
that defect or abnormality. The doc-
solidate our in d ep en d en ce."
w ith thia ad
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D E N T IS T
I Saturdays
offices
SALIM « EUGENE
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Bonneville Power Administration
Longview-Portland Area Public Meetings
WASHINGTON
BPA ia proposing construction of a 500-kV transmission line between the Longview and
Portland areas. Possible routes are shown on the map. To help w ith the environmental
studies which are pert of this project, we are asking for your comments. This information will
L h < used to determine the areas of environmental concern. Please plan to attend if you are in
terested in thia project.
-STUOV AREA
IDAHO
OREGON
F o r t V ancouver R e g io n a l L ib r a r y
L ib r a r y H a ll
1007 E. M ill P l a i n B lv d .
V a n c o u v e r, W ash in g to n 98663
D ate . . .
Time . . .
O c to b e r 1 3 , 1981
7 :3 0 p.m .
LO C A TIO N
TROJAN,
Cam as/W ashougal O f f ic e
P u b lic U t i l i t y D i s t r i c t o f C la rk C ounty
Community Room
89 "C" S t r e e t
W ash o u g al, W ash in g to n 98671
D ate . . .
Time . . .
Woodland High S c h o o l
L ib r a r y
757 P ark S t r e e t
W oodland, W ash in g to n
D ate . . .
T ime . . .
O c to b e r 1 5 , 1981
7 : 3 0 p .m .
C o w litz C ounty P u b lic U t i l i t y D i s t r i c t
P u b lic S e r v ic e Room
960 Commerce Avenue
L ongview , W ash in g to n 98632
D ate . . .
Time . . .
O c to b e r 2 0 , 1981
7 :3 0 p.m .
R a in ie r High S c h o o l/H u d so n E le m e n ta ry
S ch o o l Complex
B r i a r c l i f f A u d ito riu m
R oute 4 , Box 4245
R a i n i e r , O regon 97048
D ate . . .
Time . . .
O c to b e r 2 1 , 1981
7 :30 p.m .
D ate . . .
Time . . .
O c to b e r 2 2 , 1981
7 :3 0 p.m .
O c to b e r 1 4 , 1981
7 :3 0 p.m .
VAU
W A S H IN G T O N
98674
S cap p o o se M iddle S c h o o l
401 S o u th C olum bia R iv e r Highway
S c a p p o o s e , O regon 97056
¿8
S
I_____
’"TT
O i 5?.
i.y \
H .T ..W A .H
K e lso E le m e n ta ry S ch o o l
34651 SE. K e lso Road
B o rin g , O regon 97009
D ate . . .
Time . . .
O c to b e r 2 6 , 1981
7 :3 0 p.m .
FORTLAN d M
1-3
Rock C reek Campus
P o r tla n d Community C o lle g e
B u ild in g 03 - "Forum "
17705 NW. S p r i n g v i l l e Road
B e a v e rto n , O regon 97229
D ate . . .
Time . . .
O c to b e r 2 7 , 1981
7 :3 0 p.m .
fit-? C t S c . A M A S
CO ’
-
Sherwood E le m e n ta ry S ch o o l
800 N. Sherwood B lv d .
S herw ood, O regon 97140
D ate . . .
T ime . . .
O c to b e r 2 8 , 1981
7 :3 0 p.m .
I- ,
• ClN
If you wish to comment and are unable to attend any of the meeting» or if further inform»
non concerning the project is required, write to the Lower Columbia Area Office, P.O. Box
3621, Portland, Oregon 97206, Attention OPE, or call the Area Engineer at 234-3361, Exten
sion 5235.
OR EG O N
INO RTHI
•A AAA — w n . , «
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FIGURE I
FLANNING STUOV AREA
ALLETON-FORTLAND AREA REINFORCEMENT
»1-1