THE HELMINTH PARASITES OF MAN- 305 



(2nd edit., I, 1827, p. 172), by Surgeon P. Cunningham. He 

 mentions the presence of '' teres " or roundworms in the children 

 in the settlement at Port Jackson. In 1897 Robison (Inter. Med. 

 Jour. Austr., II, 1897, p. 87) reported a case of " Apical Pneu- 

 monia and Cerebral Symptoms associated with Worms " in a child 

 of 4 years in Sydney ; 29 large roundworms were passed. In 1898 

 Springthorpe (Austr. Med. Gaz. 1898, p. 214) exhibited in Melbourne 

 four roundworms which were passed dead during a typhoid fever 

 attack, the patient giving a history of having vomited a round- 

 worm 10 years before after a blow in the stomach. It would be 

 interesting to know whether the death of these roundworms was 

 due to the high temperature during the fever, to toxins produced 

 by the typhoid bacilli, or to the altered condition of the intestinal 

 contents. In the same year Lewers (Inter. Med. Jour. Austr., Ill, 

 1898, p. 534) reported the case of a Victorian girl of 17 years who 

 had asthmatic-like attacks, and on the fifth night coughed or 

 retched up a roundworm about 9 inches long. After this she felt 

 great relief and had no further trouble. No more worms were 

 passed, though suitable treatment was adopted. 



In 1901 Flynn (Austr. Med. Gaz., 1901, p. 496) exhibited a 

 roundworm from a Queensland patient, and in 1906 Ramsay 

 (Austr. Med. Gaz., 1908, p. 468) showed a number vomited by a 

 boy in Perth, West Australia, one being 9 inches long. Sweet 

 (Proc. Roy. Soc. Vict., 1908, p. 515) mentioned its occurrence in 

 Melbourne ; while Johnston (I.e. 1909 and 1910) referred to its 

 presence in the various States. 



Belonging to the Trichotrachelidce are Trichinella spiralis and 

 Trichocephalus trichivirus. 



3. Trichinella spiralis Owen, more commonly known as 

 Trichina spiralis, has been found in a few instances, but the disease 

 Trichiniasis may be said not to exist in man or animals at the 

 present time in Australia. We have ourselves examined portions 

 of the muscles of pigs in West Australia, and of the rats Mus decu- 

 manus and Mus alexandrinus in Sydney, and have failed to detect 

 the presence of any of these parasites, though in both sets of 

 animals Sarcosporidia were met with in the muscle fibres. It is 

 true that the number of animals thus examined was small, but did 

 the disease exist it is almost certain that instances of it in human 

 beings would from time to time present themselves clinically. 

 With one exception (in some pigs from Richmond, N.S.W., many 

 years ago) the few cases that have occurred have owed their origin 

 to localities outside Australia. The first Australian instance on 

 record of the disease in man occurred at Hobart in 1870 (Austr, 

 Med. Jour., XV, 1870, p. 318), when the captain, two mates, the 

 cook, and a young lady passenger on a German vessel in that port 

 were infected in consequence of eating ham forming part of the 

 provisions. In 1871 (Austr. Med. Gaz., XVI, 1871, p. 224) it is 

 ■said that some pigs in Richmond, N.S.W., were found largely 



