70 



THK Sl'IltOCH.KTK OK KGYl'TlAX KELAPSING I'EVEK 



coiicliisiuu iet,'ar(liiif,' the piccisu naturu of this spirochastosis wliich iiicUiced one to 

 uudertake the investigation at a time when one was overburdened with other work 

 wliicli had to be completed. Human spirochuitosis luin;,' ijractically unknown in the 

 Sudan, so far as one can tell, it was felt that the (i))|)ortunity should not l)e missed. 



I I 



■ I E«HO.\ 



Uii .liuuiarv liU, a jerboa [Jacuhii: ijorduit!) was inoculated willi hnger blood from a 

 relapse case. No infection oi- illness resulted. This jerlma iiail a heavy hu'mogregarine 

 infection. 



1 \' . C H 1 c K E .\ 



On January 2ti, a >iiun^' cliick was inoculated with linger blood Iroiii the ■^iiiin- 

 relapse case. No infection or illness resulted. 



Kxperinicnl.il 

 wurk 



V. l''i;i;i)iN(; and Inskct TK.\xsiiiissiON IIxi'eimmhnts 



(1) Bed-Biujs. — -As stated by Captain Bousfield, a certain number of bed-bugs was 

 secured from crevices in the barrack walls close to where the infected men slept. 

 These were gorged with blood, but dissection of some of them failed to reveal any 

 spirochaetes either in their stomach contents or in their tissues. A few were fed on a 

 gerbil and the tissues of several were made into an emulsion and inoculated into another 

 gerbil, but in both instances the result was entirely negative. 



(2) Lice (a). — On Januaiy 17, five lice {Pediculits vestimenti) were obtained from the 

 clothes of a recruit who had been in contact with the j)atients. One of these lice was 

 immediately dissected, but no spirochetes were found. The remaining four were placed 

 on a gerbil which was kept in a jar, the base of which stood in a vessel containing 

 water. On January 18, another batch of live lice was secured, on this occasion from 

 the clothes of a patient admitted to hospital three days previously. Two of these lice 

 were dissected and examined, one on January 18, the other on the 19th. In neither case 

 were spirochastes found. The remaining three were placed on the gerbil. The latter, 

 though frequently examined, never showed sj)irocha3tes and never appeared ill. 



(6) An attempt was made to infect lice obtained from the clothes of men at the 

 sewage farm by feeding them on gerbil 2, at the time when its blood contained 

 spirochaites. The experiment failed, all the lice being devoured by tiie mouse, wliieh 

 was exceedingly active. 



(o) On January 25, three lice were fed on one of the patients, during a relapse, and 

 at a time when spirochaetes were present in his blood. All three became well gorged. 

 Kxaininaiioii On January 26, two were dissected, one twenty-four hours after feeding, the other thirty 

 ■ ifiite negative hours after feeding. In the first case the whole louse was crushed and examined in the 

 fresh state, then smeared into a film which was stained. In the second case the louse was 

 carefully dissected and the tissues examined in the fresh state only. By an oversight the 

 stained films of the tissues were not investigated. 



On Jauuary 27, the third louse was dissected and examined piecemeal, both fresii and 

 stained preparations being made. 



In none of these lice were any spirochsetes observed, despite very prolonged and 

 careful search, nor were any granules observed like those found by Leishinan' in 

 Oriiitkodorns iiiouliala fed on blood containing Spirochieta diittoni, or bj' myself- in 

 Aryas persicuii fed on the spirochaetal blood of fowls in the Sudan. 



