huts and one hundred and fifty-two inhabitants, six had recovered, 

 while eight still had the disease. The following species of ticks were 

 collected either in the huts or close by : Hyalomma aegyptium, 

 Rhipicephalus pulchellus, R. simus, R. sanguineus, Boophilus 

 sp., Ornithodorus savigmji, and Argas persicus. Ornithodorus savignyi 

 was found almost entirely in the soft soil or sand covering the floor of 

 the huts or immediately outside them. According to the inhabitants 

 of the haffa it is very well known to them and is very common in all 

 the coast towns ; the Somalis have a special name for it, " Kud- 

 kudeh," or " Kudkuda," all other ticks being called " Shilhn." The 

 bite is said to set up great irritation, and with subsequent scratching 

 abrasions result which not infrequently become infected and ulcerate. 



Argas persicus was found to be very common in the huts of those who 

 kept fowls, and every fowl examined showed dozens of the minute 

 larvae fixed on to the skin around the neck and on the back. The 

 Somalis say that it never attacks them, and they have no name for it. 



The author says that everything points to the disease having been 

 recently imported from British East Africa, and to the parasite being 

 S. duttoni. During the last few years a very large colony of Somali 

 traders has been formed in Nairobi, and a week rarely passes without 

 numbers arriving at or departing from the Somali coast. The author 

 thinks that the Somalis are probably correct when they say that 

 although Ornithodorus savignyi has been known to them from their 

 childhood, relapsing fever is quite new to them and could only have 

 been imported this year. 



Darling (S. T.). The part played by flies and other insects in the 

 spread of infectious diseases in the tropics, with special reference 

 to ants and to the transmission of Tr. hippicum by Musca 

 domestica. — Reprint from Trans. XV th Internat. Congress Hyg. 

 & Demog. Sect, v., Washington, 1913, 4 pp. 



In order to ascertain if ants acted as carriers of infectious diseases 

 of bacterial origin, several species were trapped and fed with typhoid 

 bacilli. After dissection it was not possible to cultivate B. typhosus 

 or any other micro-organism from their intestinal tract. In the large 

 yellow ant, Camponotus landolti zonatus, Emery, formic acid was 

 absent in the head and thorax, but was present in the abdomen to the 

 amount of 3'51 per cent., or 1-43 per cent, of the entire body weight. 

 Another species, Tetramoritim guineense, contained 2'1 per cent, by 

 weight ; 76 ants of another lot contained 1'3 per cent, free acid and 

 7 "5 per cent, combined acid. Common ants then contain from 1 to 4 

 per cent, of formic acid, and it w^ould appear that they may effectually 

 sterilize bacteria in their food. Further experiments showed that 

 ants are capable of acting as mechanical carriers of B. typhosus on their 

 legs. 



Recently the author has been interested in the question of the trans- 

 mission of trypanosomiasis of horses by Musca domestica, this disease 

 (murrina) having visited the corral mules and draught horses on the 

 Panama Canal Zone in 1909. As it was chiefly among the mules, it 

 could not be ascribed to copulation. Careful consideration resulted 

 in testimony tending to incriminate no other insect but the common 



