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Trypanosomiasis in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan* 



I.— Prevalence and Distribution 

 II. — The Disease in Cattle 



In the British }[eilmiJ Joiiriial of 26111 November, 1904, I published a preliminarv note 

 on the above subject. This article referred to the fact that I had found trypanosomes in 

 the blood of a donkey from the Bahr-El-Ghazal, that Head f had discovered similar 

 parasites in mules from the same region, and that in smears from the blood of Shilluk cattle 

 .vliich he had submitted to me for examination I had found these flagellates. Since that 

 paper appeared, a considerable amount of information has been obtained, and a good deal of 

 research work has been carried out in the laboratories, upon what is a very important subject 

 in a country like the Sudan. The following are the chief points to which I wish to 

 direct attention : — 



1. The prevalence and distribution of trypanosomiasis in the Sudan. 



2. The presence in cattle of a small trypanosome which Laveranj has declared to be a 

 new species, and which he has named T. nunum. 



3. The question as to whether equines, or at least mules, are liable to a double infection 

 by two different species of trypanosomes, or are the hosts of a T. Jimorjilnnn or dimorphon 

 resembling that which aflfects horses in Senegambia.§ 



4. The great frequency of hajmorrhagie ulcerative lesions of the stomach in 

 trypanosomiasis ami their significance, also the comparative frequency of intestinal 

 ulceration. 



5. The occasional presence of spirilla in these gastric lesions, both in the blood clot 

 adherent to the ulcers and in the ulcerated surfaces. 



6. The action of chrysoidine as a therapeutic agent in trypanosomiasis. 



7. The therapeutic action in trypanosomiasis of the blood serum of wild animals (big 

 game) whose habitat is in trypanosome-infeeted areas, a line of research suggested by 

 Dr. Sheffield Neave [ride infra). 



I. As Begards Prevalenrr (did Distribution. — There can be little doubt that in the Prevalence and 

 Southern Sudan, that is to say, in the region south of the tenth parallel of latitude, 

 trypanosomiasis exists to a very considerable extent. An illness known to be due to the 

 bites of tsetse flies, and affecting donkeys, horses, mules, and possibly camels, has been 

 recognised in the Bahr-El-Ghazal province since that distant region was visited after the 

 reconquering of the Sudan. Expeditions have experienced considerable losses in transport •'^5^°'^'^"°" 



. . ' ' with the tsetse 



animals from this cause. Again, and more recently, sick and emaciated animals have been fly 

 coming from the Upper Sobat district, and especially from the neighbourhood of Itang, 

 a station on the Baro River in Abyssinian territory. This is explained by the discovery of a 

 tsetse fly-belt between Gore and Gambela Fig. 11 (p. 28) and the disease will do much to 

 hamper the trade with Abyssinia which is largely conducted by means of pack mules. 



Old records also speak of animals dying from fly bite on the upper reaches of the Blue 

 Nile, but accounts are so vague, both as regards the nature of the illness and that of the fly 



•Portions of this p.iper have already appeared in the " Journal of Tropical Medicine," the ".Journal of 

 Pathology and Bacteriology," and the " Edinlnirgh Medical Journal." The Editors of these journals have kindly 

 permitted their reproduction hero. 



t Journ. Comp. Path, and Therap. Edinburgh and Loudon, 1904, Sept. •30th. 



t Comp. rend. Soc. de Biol. Paris, 190.5, Feb. 24th. 



§ Duttou and Todd, First Report of the Trypanosomiasis Expedition to Senegambia, 1902 ; Liverpool, 1903. 



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