TRICHOCEPHA LIASIS 



305 



Douche the pari, where the uterus presents, wiih cold water, when 

 it will empty its uterus. The worm will then be absorbed, emerge or 

 in any case it will be easier to extract. The douching may be required 

 several times daily over two to three ^\eeks. 



If the worm is visible or palpable under the skin several incisions 

 can be made and the worm removed in parts. 



Some inject perchloride solution, i in 1,000, but they are painful 

 and not very successful. 



The native method is often one of straightening and not of 

 extracting. 



Treat the ulcer on ordinary lines. 



PROPHYLAXIS. 



Carefully boil and filter all drinking water. A fine handkerchief is 

 sufficient. 



Steam should be passed into wells to kill the cyclops present. 

 Avoid drinking water used for bathing purposes. 

 Improved sanitation will cause its disappearance. 



TRICHOCEPHALIASIS. 



This is an infection of the intestine by Trichocephalus trichiurus 

 or whipworm. 



It is cosmopolitan in its distribution. 



THE PARASITE. 



It belongs to the famih' Tricho- 

 trachelid^. 



The male is 40 to 45 mm. long 

 with a spirally coiled posterior end. 



Its spicule, 2 to 5 mm. long, lies 

 in a retractile pouch. 



The female is a little longer than 

 the male. 



The ^gg, unsegmented as it 

 appears in the faeces, is brown, oval, 

 thick-shelled with a pale area at each 

 pole. Several months are necessary 

 before the embryo matures. 



No' intermediate host is necessary. 



The embryo is ingested inside its 

 shell taken with either food or drink, 

 human hands or flies acting as 

 carriers. The gastric juice dissolves the shell and in about four weeks 

 the embryo reaches maturity in the intestine. 



The worm can live for years in moist earth. 



20 



Trichurh trichiura: on the left, 

 male ; on the right, female with the 

 anterior extremity embedded in the 

 mucous membrane of the intestine ; 

 below, egg. 



