PREFACE. 



As eaoh ei the various sections of the Iveport on the results of my 

 mission to Egypt were published by the War Office in the Journal of 

 the Royal Army Medical Corps a few reprints were made on a con- 

 secutive pagination. Permission has been obtained to bind these 

 together, under a short title, for the greater convenience of those who 

 may wish to consult the Report as a whole. 



The sections here reprinted appeared under the following dates : — 

 Part I (pp. 1-48). — Transmission. {Journal of the Royal Army 



Medical Corps, July, 1915.) 

 Part II (pp. 49-84). — Prevention and Eradication. {Journal of the 



Royal Army Medical Corps, August, 1915.) 

 Part III (pp. 85-94). — Development. {Journal of tJie Royal Army 



Medical Corps, September, 1915.) 

 Part IV (pp. 95-112). — Egyptian Mollusca. {Journal of the Royal 



Army Medical Corps, August, 1916.) 

 Part V (pp. 1]3-13'2). — Adults and Ova. {Journal of the Royal Army 



Medical Corps, March, 1918.) 

 Part VI (pp. 133-140). — Bearing of Previous Work on B. japonica, and 

 Concluding Remarks. {Journal of the Royal Army Medical 

 Corps, March, 1918.) 

 Appendix (pp. i-xxvii). — Bibliography of Bilharziosis. {Journal of the 

 Royal Army Medical Corps, July, August and September, 1915.) 

 In deahng with the prevention of the disease in the Army, I have 

 taken occasion to bring under notice certain features in the bionomics 

 of the intermediary hosts, and in the irrigation methods which give 

 promise of effective means by which the Egyptian and Soudan Govern- 

 ments can, without vast special expenditure, bring about a great reduction 

 in the infectivity of already infested districts, and the total exclusion of 

 the essential carriers of the disease from newly reclaimed land. The 

 almost hopeless task of endeavouring to control the disease by changing 

 the ingrained habits and traditional practices of the people may thus 

 be avoided. 



To the various authorities in Egypt, to my colleagues. Captain J. G. 

 Thomson and Dr. R. P. Cockin, and to Sergeant W. McDonald^ R.A,M.C., 

 who aided the investigations there, I have expressed my deep indebtedness 

 in the body of the Report. 



I wish to acknowledge here most gratefully the warm encouragement 

 received during the inquiry from Colonel W. H. Horrocks, C.B.,who found 

 time amid heavy burdens to write emphasizing the practical objectives to 



