58 Philippine Journal of Science 1928 
However, repeated concentration of the stools which by this time were 
dark and very hard in consistence, failed to reveal any more hookworm 
ova. The hysterical symptoms abated somewhat, but the pain in the abdo- 
men continued to recur periodically, and the patient was eventually taken 
from the hospital by her relatives against our advice. 
We cite this case as illustrating the possibilities of hookworm 
infection in Filipino children. We feel that it is unwise to be 
misled into a false sense of security by the stress that has been 
laid in the past on the apparent modification of hookworm symp- 
toms in the Filipino. Aside from cases of this kind it seems 
worth while to repeat the statements of two of the earlier 
workers in the Philippines. Garrison(21) says: 
Whether or not the explanation of this apparent rarity of clinical 
symptoms in hookworm infection among the Filipinos is a racial immunity 
on the part of the people to the toxins secreted by the worms, * * * 
the fact that severe clinical manifestations of uncinariasis are rare in 
the Philippines materially alters the problem which is presented. Instead 
of producing an acute condition * * * it would appear that in the Phil- 
ippines hookworm infections play a part more nearly resembling that of the 
other common intestinal worms to which no definite pathology or severe 
symptomatology is usually attributed. 
Cole,(8) who studied the problem in native scout soldiers, 
regards the hookworm as a real menace in much the same sense 
as we regard it. He says: 
Everyone suffering from uncinariasis, although it may be mild, is more 
susceptible to other diseases and having contracted a complicating disease, 
is more severely attacked because of his weakened condition and also 
his period of illness is necessarily longer. 
In closing our discussion of hookworm infection, and because 
it has a direct bearing on parasitism in young children, we wish 
to allude briefly to the statement of Howard,(32) who has re- 
ported the finding of hookwerm ova in the feces of a child 14 
days old. The mother was infected and showed the usual symp- 
toms of hookworm disease. She gave a history of ground-itch 
during pregnancy. Howard points out that if infected at the 
time of birth the infant could not show ova in the stool sooner 
than the end of the fourth week after its birth. Consequently, 
he reasons, ova found in the feces before the end of the fourth 
week must result from prenatal infection. He reports cases he 
saw in Ceylon in 1916 in which “the apparent clinical manifesta- 
tions were out of proportion to the degree of infection and 
the length of time these children could have had the disease 
had they acquired it in the usual way and post-natally.” 
In this connection it may be mentioned that a case of prenatal 
