268 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 5 



AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE LITERATURE ON INSECTS 

 AND DISEASE FOR THE YEAR 191 1 



By R. W. DoANE, Stanford University 



During the year 1911 important advances were made in our knowl- 

 edge of the relation of insects to disease. As during the past few 

 years, most interest has centered around the studies in regard to 

 Sleeping Sickness. 



Several of the papers and reports give much additional information 

 in regard to the bionomics of the tsetse flieSj their haunts, habits and 

 relation to man and other animals. It is now known that some of the 

 vertebrates other than man may harbor Trypanosma gamhiense and 

 that there is a possibility of these being transmitted to man. 



Certain experiments have shown that Glossina morsitans may 'act 

 as a host for a human trypanosome which is probablj^ identical with 

 T. gamhiense. This seems to account for many of the cases of Sleep- 

 ing Sickness in regions where G. palpalis does not occur and indicates 

 that the disease may spread over yet wider areas. 



An interesting account of the development of T. gamhiense in G. 

 palpalis is given in one of the reports of the Sleei3ing Siclaiess Com- 

 mission. Two days after biting an infected animal the fly becomes 

 incapable of infecting other animals and remains so for about 22 to 28 

 days when it again becomes infective and may remain so for at least 

 96 days. During the infection period the salivary glands are found to 

 be invaded with the type of the trypanosome that is found in the 

 vertebrate blood. 



The Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, November 1, 1911, 

 announces that a new commission has been appointed to study Sleeping 

 Sickness in Nyassaland where G. palpalis has not been found. It is 

 hoped to determine whether the parasite that causes the disease is 

 distinct from T. gamhiense or whether other species of tsetse flies may 

 transmit this parasite. 



The recent outbreak of pneumonic plague in Manchuria and North 

 China has created world-wide interest. Although this type of plague is 

 not dependent on fleas for its transmission, being directly contagious, 

 it can usuahy be traced more or less directly to an outbreak of plague 

 in some other animals. This outbreak originated in the tarabagans, 

 a kind of squirrel in Manchuria and was spread over an extended 

 region by the hunters who trapped these animals. 



Canthe, Jour. Trop. Med. & Hyg. Feb. 15, 1911, gives the following 

 summary of the way in which plague may appear: 



