218 



PARASITES OF MAN 



FIG. 42. Outline of a fe- 

 male Dracunculus medi- 

 nensis. Kat. size. Ori- 

 ginal. 



banks of the Ganges, in Upper Egypt, Abys- 

 sinia, and the coast of Guinea. " In America 

 the guinea-worm is unknown, except in per- 

 sons who have had communication with Africa 

 or other parts where it is indigenous. The 

 island of Curaoa is the only locality in the 

 New World which offers an apparent excep- 

 tion to this fact, and it would be highly 

 desirable to ascertain the real state of the case 

 in this instance/' The observations of Chis- 

 holm showed that the Dracunculus is really 

 prevalent in several of the West Indian islands, 

 especially in Grenada, and the still later investi- 

 gations of Dr Da Silva Lima point to its 

 former prevalence in Brazil. Now, the worm is 

 rarely seen at Bahia. Mr Busk said: "Though 

 endemic only in the above-mentioned parts of 

 the world, it would yet appear that all races 

 of mankind are obnoxious to the attacks of 

 the Filaria when exposed to what may be 

 called the contagion ; that is, when placed in 

 circumstances under which it might be sup- 

 posed a contagious seminium could be conveyed 

 to them." Mr Busk also added : " I have 

 known many instances tending to prove that, 

 in order that a European should become in- 

 fected with the guinea-worm on the coast of 

 Africa, it is not necessary that he should have 

 been on shore at all. It has been quite suf- 

 ficient for him to have exposed the bare 

 surface of some parts of his person to the 

 water in the native canoes alongside, or, it 

 may be, to the discharge from the sores of 

 those laboring under the disease. This mode 

 of its introduction accounts for the frequency 

 with which the legs and feet are attacked 

 by the parasite, in preference to other parts 

 of the body, as it will always, I believe, be 

 found that the men who have become so affected 

 have been in the habit of going about with bare 

 feet, as is common among sailors in warm 

 latitudes. That the contagious material is 



