150 



eggs are laid on the hairs of the shoulders, legs, and ventral side of 

 the body during the summer and early autumn. Moisture and friction 

 seem necessary to hatch the eggs. The larva is transferred to the 

 mouth by means of the tongue or lips ; thence it passes to the stomach, 

 where it becomes attached by means of two hooks. Maturity is 

 reached in the following spring ; the larva passes out of the rectum 

 and into the ground to pupate. The adult emerges after 30 or 40 days. 

 The attachment of the larvae to the wall of the stomach interferes 

 with glandular action ; inflammation and irritation of the rectum may 

 follow attachment in this region. H ypoderma lineatum causes serious 

 loss to cattle-owners. The skin becomes perforated by the outward 

 passage of the larvae from the muscles of the back for pupation, and 

 thus lowers the value of the hides. Psoroptes communis var. ovis 

 causes scabies in sheep, and may result in the death of from 10 to 80 

 per cent, of the flock. Quarantine regulations and steps taken to 

 eradicate the disease in the quarantined areas are doing much to stamp 

 out this pest. Care of the pastures is important in the control of 

 parasites. If internal parasites are prevalent, it is not advisable to 

 top dress pastures with manure from infected animals. A rotation 

 of pastures will facilitate control. The carcases of animals dying on 

 the farm should be burned or deeply buried, and a strong disinfectant 

 scattered over the surface of the ground with which the animal has 

 come in contact. 



Drake-Brockman (R. E.). On an epidemic of African Tick Fever 

 among the Troops in British Somaliland.^Trans. Soc. Trop. Med. 

 d Hyg., London, viii, no. 7, June 1915, pp. 201-211. 



Though Ornithodorus savignyi has been known to the Somalis for 

 years, tick fever is of recent appearance in the country and was first 

 recognised at Bulbar in 1912, whence it spread to Hargeisa [see 

 this Review, Ser. B, iii, p. 72]. In 1914, it was necessary to send 

 a company of Somaliland Camel Constabulary to the latter place, 

 and a large number of the men contracted the disease. They 

 admitted being bitten by the tick, locally known as " Kudkuda," 

 and quantities were found in the soil among the huts and in 

 places where the natives congregated. The tick can be found almost 

 anywhere in the country where the soil is light, powdery and 

 dirty, and the place freely frequented by man and animals. It has no 

 special predilection for the blood of man, but will feed on camels, 

 horses, mules, donkeys, sheep, and goats. It moves rapidly over the 

 surface of the soil and a person standing on an infested spot will find 

 them swarming over his boots, and cattle are often so worried by 

 them that they will leave shade even in the hottest hours of the day, 

 the ground under shade trees being specially infested. The human 

 subject is generally attacked at night, the native habit of sleeping on 

 the ground affording a good opportunity to the ticks. They are 

 tenacious of life and will live for months without food, provided they 

 can burrow in the soil, just below the surface, so as to be able to 

 emerge quickly when disturbed ; they will live in a well-corked bottle 

 for months, and though apparently dead, revive quickly on exposure 

 to air. Avoidance of infested places is a simple remedy against attack, 

 and filth and rubbish which afford suitable feeding places should be 



