BY T. HARVEY JOHNSTON, M.A., D.SC. 211 



-^^(Cleland and Johnston, 1911, a, p. 21-23), refers to the 

 fact that " in one consignment of 1,500 hind quarters 

 which recently arrived in London, 808 were found to be 

 infected." This is about 54 per cent., and the number 

 would probably have been greater had fore- quarters been 

 examined. If we consider what a large amount of meat 

 is exported from Australia, especially Eastern Australia, 

 to Great Britain and elsewhere, we must realise the serious- 

 ness of this parasitic invasion. Macfadden (1911, p. 3) 

 states that between 60,000 and 70,000 quarters of Australian 

 beef arrived per month, between July and October of last 

 year (1910) at the port of London alone. 



Effect on host : — In regard to the result of this para- 

 sitism on the health of the infested animal, it is of impoitance 

 to note that no authors, excepting Barnard and Park 

 (1894), have mentioned any deleterious effect produced by 

 the presence of the Onchocerca. In reference to the state- 

 ments made by these authors, we (Cleland and Johnston, 

 1910, c, p. 93) have already suggested that tubercular and 

 actinomycotic tissues, from varicrus parts of the body, had 

 been inadvertently mixed with true worm nodules, and hence 

 their mistake in believing that tubercle commonly follows 

 the parasite. Dodd (1910, a, p. 86), Hancock (1911, p. 25), 

 Nicoll (1911, p. 73), Gilruth and Sweet (1911, p. vii) and 

 others agree with us in our assertion that the presence 

 of the nematode is not any in way detrimental to the host. 



Public health aspect : — From the point of view of public 

 health and meat inspection, we must admit that the presence 

 of animal parasites in food is undesirable. We think 

 that they should be removed, but even if eaten, whether 

 unconsciously or otherwise, as already pointed out by us 

 (1910, a, p. 174 ; 1910, c, p. 98), no harm would result. 

 Dr. Gibson (1893, p. 579) fed a dog on worm-nests for a 

 considerable time without ill effect. Then again, the parasite 

 can only survive the death of the host for a very short time. 

 The same remark applies to the embryos. Besides this, 

 there is no possibility of direct transmission through eating, 

 even if the same species were able to live in man which is 

 most improbable. 



Robinson (1910, p. 6) reported that Dr. Collingbridge, 

 the Medical Officer of Health for London, had stated that 

 r 



