INTESTINAL PARASITES. 213 



frequency of amoebiasis in these members of the iSTaval Hospital Corps 

 as compared with that in the Filipino patients examined.^ 



Fii'st: Tlie stools of tlie men in the hospital corps were examined within a 

 short time after being passed. It is a matter of common observation that a 

 stool showing many amcebje may, after standing for a few hours, fail to show 

 the presence of a single amoeba. Many of the specimens brought to the labor- 

 atory by Filipino patients were evidently many hours old. 



Second: The expedient of giving a dose of salts prior to examination for 

 amoebiB was not practicable with the Filipinos. 



Third : Our experience has been that amcebse are less frequent in young children 

 and as about one-third of our Filipino patients were of such age, this should 

 be taken into consideration. 



At Bilibid Prison, GaiTison encountered amoebic infection in 23 per 

 cent of the cases.* In the medical survey of Ta.jta.j, his findings were 

 2.7 -pev cent.' Eissler and Gomez " report only 0.39 per cent of amoebic 

 infection in their examinations in Las Pinas and no cases showing such 

 infections in Tngnegarao and Santa Isabel. Such numbers are in 

 striking contrast with those of former investigators, some of whom have 

 reported as high a percentage of infection as 70. 



Our findings as regards flagellates (14.4 per cent) correspond fairly 

 closely with those of Garrison, namely, 21 per cent at Bilibid and 5.5 

 per cent at Taytay. 



Eepeated examinations with Giemsa staining and the counting of 

 flagella in preparations in wet Gram solution showed only one species 

 of flagellate to be present. Trichomonas intestinalis. Lamblia was not 

 found in a single instance. 



Garrison, for Tricliocephalus infection, obtained 59 per cent at Bili- 

 bid and 77 per cent at Ta3d;ay; Eissler and Gomez give 53 per cent at 

 Las Pihas; 25.9 per cent at Tuguegarao, and 6.23 aX Santa Isabel. Our 

 findings were 65.1 per cent. 



As regards Ascaris we found a higher rate of infection than for any 

 other parasite (67.2 per cent). Garrison encountered 26 per cent at 

 Bilibid and 82.9 per cent at Taytay. The percentages of Eissler and 

 Gomez are 77, 73, and 60 respectively for Las Piiias, Tuguegarao, and 

 Santa Isabel. 



Garrison noted at Bilibid an incidence second only to Tricliocephalus 

 for hookworm infection, nam^ely 52 per cent. His percentage of infec- 

 tion at Taytay was 11.6. Eissler and Gomez found 11.14 of all cases 

 examined, infected with hookworms at Las Pinas; 8.01 per cent in 

 Tuguegarao, and 45.38 per cent in Santa Isabel. We noted only 2.4 

 per cent for Cavite, San Eoque, and Caridad. 



' Thirty-five and six-tenths per cent as against 10.9 per cent for Filipinos. 

 *This Journal, Sec. B (1908), 3, 191. 

 Uhid. (1909), 4, 257. 

 'lUd. (1910), 5, 267. 



102362 — —4 



