3 o8 EASTERN ETHIOPIA xxv 



the disagreeable habit of readily attacking any warm- 

 blooded animal. The natives walk about with bare 

 feet ; therefore these parts suffer ; but the flea may 

 penetrate the skin on any part of the body, even the 

 hands and face. It is the impregnated female which 

 causes the trouble, by burrowing obliquely into the 

 skin of the sole, or that lining the clefts between 

 the toes, or at the roots of the nails, until only 

 the posterior segment is visible : the flea remains in 



The Sand Flea, or Jigger (Dermatophilus peiictrans). A. The 

 male. B. The impregnated female. 



the skin whilst the eggs mature. The presence of the 

 jigger causes irritation and pain : on examining the 

 feet a small dark spot in the centre of a small 

 swelling or blister will be seen. Usually only one 

 or two jiggers exist in the skin, but a score or 

 more, even a hundred, may be present. The native 

 boys, with a pin or a needle, carefully remove the 

 insects intact if possible, and are very skilful and neat 

 in extracting them. It is necessary to be careful to 

 clean the wound left after the removal of the jigger 

 with an antiseptic solution, for some of these small 

 holes have been the starting-point of serious and some- 

 times fatal erysipelas, septic infection, and tetanus. 

 Europeans living in Africa are often troubled with 



