58 



test boxes, though lice in various stages of growth were present in the 

 control box. It is so improbable that lice having a long hatching 

 period may survive a temperature which kills those which develop 

 more rapidly, that the author concludes that dry heat or submersion 

 in water at 131° F. kills both active lice and their eggs. It follows, as 

 a consequence, that considerably lower temperatures than those 

 usually employed may be used to kill these vermin. For the thorough 

 sterilisation of infested garments, the question of penetration is all 

 important. A considerable economy of fuel might probably be effected 

 by allowing a longer exposure at a lower temperature, while it should 

 be practicable to use quite lightly built chambers or temporarily 

 adapted rooms to obtain dry air temperatures of, say, 140° F. 



Hall (M. C). The Dog as a Carrier of Parasites and Disease. — U.S. 

 Dept. Agric, Washington, D.C., Bull. no. 260, 23rd November 

 1915, 27 pp., 13 figs. [Received 9th February 1916.] 



Investigations in the western United States indicate that the two 

 common species of fleas attacking man, viz., Ctenocephalus canis and 

 Pulex irritans, are carried by the dog. Both species are capable of 

 transmitting bubonic plague to man, and C. canis is, in addition, a 

 carrier of the tapeworm, Dipylidium caninum. Echidnophaga gallinacea 

 (fowl flea), a common pest in some of the southern States, frequently 

 infests dogs. In the States the dog is known to be the carrier of 

 eleven species of ticks, the majority of which are parasites of man or 

 stock. Dermacentor variabilis is commonly found on dogs, while 

 D. venustus (spotted-fever tick) and Margaropus annulatus (Texas- 

 fever tick) may occur on them. The dog is also affected by a form of 

 mange due to the mite, Sarcoptes scabiei canis, and this disease may be 

 transmitted to man. S. scabiei ovis, causing a rare form of sheep scab, 

 may be carried by the dog, which is also a host of Dermatophilus 

 penetrans (chigoe flea), occurring in tropical countries and indigenous 

 in the southern portion of North America, as well as of the parasitic 

 larvae of certain flies which habitually attack man and stock. These 

 inchide Dermatobia hominis {cyaniventris), occurring in South and Central 

 America, Cordylobia anthropophaga in Africa, and Chrysomyia macellaria 

 in the United States. These parasites are especially liable to occur 

 on stray dogs, which are thus a source of danger to the community 

 and should be destroyed. 



ScHUBERG & BoiNG. Ueber die Uebertragung von Kranliheiten durch 

 einheimische stechende Insekten. [The transmission of diseases 

 by native biting insects.] — Centralbl. f. Bakt., Parasit. u. 

 Infektionskr., Jena, lie Abt. Referafe, Ixiv, no. 8, 28th December 

 1915, pp. 227-228. [Abstract from Arb. a. d. Kaiserl. Gesund- 

 heitsamte, Berlin, xlvii, 1914, p. 491.] 



With regard to the transmission of anthrax by Stomoxys calcitrans, 

 the authors' experiments with large animals confirm those previously 

 obtained by Schuberg and Kuhn ; it cannot be doubted that this fly 

 conveys infection. Further experiments make it very probable that 

 Stomoxys can convey streptococci in cases where the fly has shortly 

 before (within a day) absorbed those which are pathogenic to the 

 animal bitten. This probably applies to man also. 



