51 



CHRiSTorHEES (S. R.). Malaria in the Andamans. — Sci. Memoirs 



hij Officers of the Med. and Sanif. J)epts. of the Govt, of 



India. (iS'.S. no. 56.) (Reviewed in Jl. Trop. Med. iV 

 Jlyfj., 1st Feb. 1913, p. 41.) 



The author states that the chief carrier of mahiria in the settle- 

 ment is AnopJteles {Nyssomyzomyia) li/dlowi, a species which 

 breeds in and about salt-swamps and which is never found further 

 than half a mile from salt or brackish water. 



The form of parasite carried by this Anophelea was malignant 

 tertian, though it is probable that it carries all forms. It is 

 doubtful whether malaria is transmitted by the other common 

 species, .4. rossi and A. {Myzorhynchus) harhirostris; in any case, 

 the latter species can only be an important carrier within the 

 forest, and the mere clearing- of the laud has made it of small 

 consequence even in regard to numbers. 



Owing- to the distribution of A. ludloivi, malaria in the settle- 

 ment is confined to a belt around the harbour and is absent, or 

 nearly so, from villages more than half a mile from the sea-coast 

 or the salt-swamps connected witli it. This freedom from malaria 

 is evident even in inland villages, on the margins of swamps, 

 amidst rice-fields and near jungles, and in some cases witliin the 

 villages themselves the portions lying nearest to the sea were 

 malarious, while those further away were not. 



The endemicity of the disease is clearly associated with the 

 prevalence of Anopheles. Suitable breeding- conditions were un- 

 limited, but fish of the genus Haplochilus were very common, and 

 found in all waters, except those of a purely temporary character. 



It is of interest that though at the time of the visit there were 

 very few cases of infection with malignant tertian, the only two 

 infected Anopheles found carried this type of parasite. 



Christophers thinks that the proportionate prevalence of the 

 difterent forms of parasites in any community is dependent upon, 

 (a) the activity of transmission jnumber of Anopheles carriers); 

 and (//) factors which increase or diminish tlie number and con- 

 tinuance of relapses. 



Longfellow (R. C). The Common House Roach as a Carrier of 

 Disease. — American Jl. of Public Health, iii., no. 1, 

 Jan. 1913, pp. 58-61. 



Experiments made with a number of cockroaches showed that 

 these insects carry on their legs Bacillus coll communis , B. protetis 

 vulgaris, Staplrylococcus aureus, S. citreus and a bacillus of the 

 suhtilis type. 



The same organisms were found in the faeces. The author was 

 able to prove that the cockroaclies will eat and live upon the 

 faeces of other cockroaches, that many of the organisms found 

 either on the limbs of the insects or in their alimentary tract were 

 not afiected by passage through the alimentary tract, and experi- 

 ments made with a number of other organisms obtained from 

 outside sources yielded the same result. He points out that 

 these experiments show the common cockroach to be a very 



