378 THE ANIMAL PARASITES OF MAN 



Rhabditis niellyi, Blanchard, 1885. 



Syn. : Leptodera niellyi^ Blanchard, 1885. 



In 1882 Nielly had a cabin-boy, aged 14, under observation 

 in Brest. The lad had never left the neighbourhood of Brest, 

 and had suffered from itching papules on the skin for five or 

 six weeks ; in the papules the observer found one or several rhab- 

 dites, measuring 0*33 mm. in length by 0-30 mm. in breadth. 

 Their cuticle presented a delicate transverse striation ; the intestine 

 was the only internal organ recognizable, and it opened somewhat 

 in front of the posterior extremity. Therefore, it must have belonged 

 to the rhabditis-like larva of a Nematode, the adult stage of which 

 is unknown. 



The manner of infection was established almost certainly by a further obser- 

 vation of Nielly's : at the commencement of the illness small Nematodes were 

 found in the blood of the patient; later on, however, they disappeared, neither were 

 Nematodes found in the faeces, urine or sputum. Therefore it must be concluded 

 that the cabin-boy, who was in the habit of drinking water from brooks, had thus 

 ingested embryo-containing eggs of a Nematode ; the young hatched out in the 

 intestine, perforated it, reached the blood and then settled in the skin ; but, on the 

 other hand, the entry may have been direct through the skin. 



In connection with the foregoing, reference should be made to a communication 

 by Whittles, insufficient from a zoological point of view. In a case of hypertrophic 

 gingivitis occurring in a female patient, aged 19, who had never left Birmingham, 

 he found Nematode larvae in the periosteum of the upper jaw, which was excised 

 after extraction of the right premolar ; the genital rudiment could be recognized in 

 them. Similar larvae were found in the same patient in abscesses in various regions 

 of the skin, and in the case of her mother in the blood. The author considers that 

 the infection took place through a dog, and refers to the case of O'Neil (1875), wno 

 found Filariae in the skin (in the condition known as "craw-craw"), referred by 

 Manson to Filaria perstans. O'NeiPs case was quoted, and attributed to Filaria 

 sanguinis hominis. In conclusion, the author states that he has repeatedly found 

 Nematode larvae in the blood of persons who suffered from pruritus; in his opinion 

 the parasite had been imported through the agency of troops returned from South 

 Africa. Glatzel found true Filaria larvae in a pustule of a cutaneous eruption of the 

 trunk and extremities in a patient at Dar-es-Salam. 



Skin diseases which are caused by young Nematodes are also observed in dogs 

 (Siedamgrotzky, Moller, J. G. Schneider, Kiinnemann), foxes (Leuckart), and horses 

 (Semmer). Ziirn found young Nematodes (Anguillulid<z') also in pig's flesh. In 

 Kiinnemann's case it was shown that the adult Rhabdites lived in the straw upon 

 which the dog lay. 



Rhabditis, sp. 



In the fluid obtained by lavage from the stomach of a female patient, aged 16, 

 suffering from ozaena, O. Frese found during two consecutive months Rhabdites of 

 various ages, 0-275 to '^4 mm - ' n length, the adults all with eggs ; males were 

 not found; transmission into rabbit's stomach failed, but they could be kept alive in 

 much diluted hydrochloric acid (2 : 1,000) for several weeks. Neither eggs nor larvae 



