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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 1 25 



It is believed that only a very careful study of the actual disease 

 zones as they are presently constituted, followed by long-term investi- 

 gations concerning the extension of the disease to new areas, will 

 make it possible to demonstrate clearly the importance of the meteoro- 

 logical and other factors in relation to the endemicity of onchocerciasis. 



Map 14. 



THE INHABITANTS, THEIR OCCUPATIONS AND CUSTOMS 



In a search for the explanation of the limited distribution of oncho- 

 cerciasis in Guatemala many environmental factors must be studied. 

 In the preceding section the geography and climate were discussed. 

 It will now be appropriate to consider the inhabitants of the onchocer- 

 ciasis regions and determine to what extent their occupations and 

 customs may be responsible for the transmission of onchocerciasis, 

 while still preventing it from spreading rapidly and extensively. 



As previously stated ("Onchocerciasis Zones"), in the Municipality 



