150 



death from this disease, and that decomposition with its attendant 

 odours rapidly sets in, attracting a veritable swarm of screw-worm 

 flies, it seems probable that they must be capable of infecting any 

 animal they may visit shortly afterwards, provided it has any skin 

 abrasion, such as an unhealed brand mark. Since it has been proved 

 that Bacillus anthracis is able to survive the rays of the tropical sun 

 in the soil of Panama for several years, it should certainly be able 

 to live on the feet and proboscis of the screw- worm fly for a few hours 

 or even days. It is therefore not improbable that this fly may be 

 one of the principle carrying agents in tropical and subtropical 

 countries. 



Other flies, though to a lesser extent, have the habit of depositing 

 their eggs or living larvae in open wounds or exposed parts of the 

 body, and it is much to be regretted that in a great many cases of 

 human myiasis the larvae have never been identified or bred out. 

 If this were done in all cases of cutaneous myiasis, it might incriminate 

 other flies in the Canal Zone, hitherto unsuspected, though C. macellaria 

 is certainly the chief cause of nasal myiasis. 



As regards remedial measures little can be done in Panama owing 

 to the existing peculiar conditions and the great diversity of the 

 breeding habits of the fly. In treating animals with infested wounds, 

 spraying all open lesions with chloroform or carbon tetrachloride has 

 proved efficacious. Of these, carbon tetrachloride is as fatal to the 

 maggots as chloroform, if not more so; it is equal in penetrating 

 power, does not evaporate more quickly, produces no more irritation 

 to the tissues, does not retard healing any longer, and is much cheaper. 

 It is better than carbon bisulphide, as its odour does not attract 

 the flies and it is non-inflammable. 



Deeply punctured wounds should be sprayed first with glycerine to 

 induce the maggots to approach the opening of the wound and then 

 with carbon tetrachloride to destroy them. If they are killed in 

 deep-seated wounds, they remain as a foreign body causing suppura- 

 tion. After cleansing, the wound should be dressed with some repel- 

 lent such as pine tar. An excellent protective dressing may be made 

 by mixing equal parts of beeswax, fish oil, and carbon tetrachloride, 

 and working in enough vaseline to give it the proper consistency. 

 The use of this on animal wounds, both those that are fresh and those 

 from which screw- worms have been removed, will prevent egg deposi- 

 tion, and save the cattle from damage, as well as reduce the number 

 of the flies. 



All fresh meat should be screened to prevent its becoming blown. 

 All persons camping in the jungle should sleep imder mosquito netting, 

 and this should always be used for siestas during the day, being then 

 even more important than at night. 



Dove (W. E.). Some Biological and Control Studies of Gasirophilus 

 haemorrhoidalis and other Bots of Horses. — U.S. Dept. Agric, 

 Washington, B.C., Bull. no. 597, 9th April 1918, 51 pp. 

 5 plates, 4 figs. 



Preliminary investigations in the summer of 1915 upon the European 

 Oestrid, Gastrophilus haemorrhoidalis (nose-fly), have shown that the 

 concentration of horses in pastures by breeders, due to the great 



