A valuable account of buildinr; methods to elinainate tampan 

 infestation has recently/ been published by Annecke and Qxiin (1952) 

 and Annecke (195^-). Reinforced concrete buildin^^s, vhich replaced 

 vattle and daub huts at a cost of L 13 per person, are said to 

 have reduced deaths from relapsing fever on a large South African 

 citrus plantation from forty to a single case annually. Addi- 

 tional benefits resulted from employees* social and economic 

 betterment. These buildings ^<;ere constructed by casting walls 

 in a steel framed mold and raising precast concrete roof sections 

 over them. Floors were made from a vermiculite and cement mixture. 

 Acceptability to indigenous labor, ease of cleaning, and crack- 

 proof construction were important considerations. As the economic 

 level of African labor rises, such prevention methods will become 

 normal and expected, but today they are revolutionary. 



The effect of domestic animals on _0. moubata populations in 

 houses appears to be moot. Under usual conditions it seems that 

 domestic animals allowed to live in human habitations tend to 

 allow an increase of ticks in these buildings. An exception is 

 cited by Walton (1950A), who believes that in areas of high humi- 

 dity additional moisture provided by domestic animals in huts is 

 enough to discourage the tampan. Rooms in which goats are kept 

 in humid Kenya hills are free of ticks (Teesdale 1952). 



Inasmuch as chickens often are said to be a favorite nymphal 

 host, they probably should be excluded from buildings except pos- 

 sibly for periodic forays to feed on ticks near the surface of 

 the ground. Khowles and Terry (1950) reported that chickens in 

 Tanganyika are heavily infested with nymphal 0. moubata , but 

 Phipps (1950) found no significant relation between the presence 

 of ticks and fowls in the same area. 



Chemical Control 



Gamnexane (Hexachlorocyclohexane, 3HC or benzene hexachloride ) 

 is generally considered to be the most promising chemical for 

 controlling 0. moubata . 



Ticks coming in contact with 0.5 per cent dust lose co- 

 ordination after five or six hours. During the first day they 

 lose much of their body weight by excessive coxal fluid loss, def- 

 ecation of milky fluid, and possibly by increased integumental 



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