Studies  on  Schistosomatosis,  made  in  the  North  of  Brazil,  by  a 
commission  from  the  Instituto  Oswaldo  Cruz. 
Report  and  travelling  notes  presented 
by 
DF££5.  ADOLPHO  LUTZ  &  OSWIXO  PIÏWA. 
Programme  of  the  Expedition. 
The  Commission  designed  by  Dr. 
CARLOS  CHAGAS,  Director  of  the  Insti¬ 
tute,  to  study  schistosomatosis  in  its  Brazi¬ 
lian  foci  (all  situated  in  the  North),  consis¬ 
ted  of  Drs.  ADOLPHO  LUTZ  and  OSWINO 
PENNA,  each  one  accompanied  by  a  servant. 
Our  scope  being  the  gathering  of  infor¬ 
mation  on  the  prevalence  of  Schistosomum 
mansoni  and  the  study  of  local  conditions 
in  the  foci  of  infection,  we  decided  to  visit 
the  schools  of  “Aprendizes  Marinheiros”  in 
the  North  which  had  already  furnished  ob¬ 
servations  to  Dr.  PENNA  and  material  for 
studies  to  Dr.  LUTZ.  With  the  indications 
obtained  by  examining  all  the  apprentices  we 
would  determine  the  foci  in  the  interior.  At 
the  same  time  many  other  people,  in  health 
or  diseased,  were  to  be  examined,  using  every 
occasion  to  obtain  an  estimate  of  the  per¬ 
centage  of  infection  and  the  symptoms  pro¬ 
duced.  In  the  foci  of  infection  the  mollusks 
harbouring  the  parasite  would  be  searched 
for.  and  the  species  and  the  proportion  of 
natural  infection  determined.  The  cercariac 
obtained  would  be  used  for  animal  expe¬ 
riments. 
While  pursuing  the  principal  object  of 
the  journey,  all  opportunities  for  other  studies 
of  local  pathology  and,  specially,  of  parasitical 
diseases  and  medical  zoology  were  to  be 
seized. 
This  programme  was  calculated  for  an 
absence  of  at  least  two  months.  We  intended 
to  travel  by  sea  to  Recife  and  from  there 
by  railway  to  Rio  Grande  do  Norte,  the  most 
distant  of  the  states  we  expected  to  visit. 
The  return  journey,  always  from  North 
to  South,  would  take  us  through  the 
States  of  Parahyba,  Pernambuco,  Alagoas 
and  Sergipe,  ending  in  the  Capital  of  Bahia 
from  where,  after  finishing  our  studies,  we 
would  return  to  Rio  de  Janeiro  by  sea. 
This  programme  was  entirely  carried 
out  without  serious  difficulties.  Our  inten¬ 
tion  however  of  doing  much  work  in  little  time, 
being  in  opposition  to  the  general  habits, 
was  not  favoured  by  the  conditions  we  found, 
