826 MICROBIOLOGY OF DISEASES Or MAN AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



medium, they" will 'develop in three or, four days, into herpetomonad forms. 

 The large nucleus becomes the trophonucleus of the flagellate form, while the 

 smaller, rod-like, mass becomes the kinetonucleus, from which. arises the flagellum. 

 The method by which the infection is acquired is unknown; it is probably by the 

 bite of an insect, perhaps a bedbug. 



Kala azar is a chronic disease characterized by emaciation, by an 

 irregular fever and by considerable enlargement of the spleen. There 

 is great loss in strength and energy. 



Although there may be periods of apparent amelioration, the disease 

 usually progresses steadily, in spite of treatment, to a fatal termination. 



Infantile Kala Azae 

 Leishmania infantum — NicoUe, 1908 



Most authorities recognize the generalized leishmaniasis which 

 occurs in various countries bordering on the Mediterranean as a distinct 

 disease. It is confined almost wholly to young children in whom it 

 usually runs a fatal course. This disease has been transmitted to 

 lo^er animals and the infection occurs naturally in dogs, especially 

 those of infested districts. Recent investigations indicate' t^at the dog 

 furnishes a source of infection for human beings and that transmission 

 ^is affected through the agency of a species of flea. 



;- Localized Leishmaniasis. (Delhi B oil) 



• Leishmania tropica — Wright, 1903 > 



The localized forms of leishmaniasis occur in widely" distributed localities , 

 throughout tte tropics, and numerous local names have beeii applied, Aleppo Boil, 

 Oriental sore, Bagdad Boil, Biskra Button, etc. In South America likewise a 

 number of local names have been applied, Espundia, Uta, Bubas, Braziliana and 

 , Forest Yaws. In certain forms of the disease the mucous membranes are invaded 

 with loss of tissue of the nose and palate causing great deformity. 



The parasites are found at the spreading edge of the lesions. As they occur in 



the ulcer they are oval parasites, almost identical with those which are found in ^he 



r spledn of persons suffering from kala azar. If infected material "be placed on a 



culture medium, flagellated forms will be developed. In many cases the organisms 



are difficult to find. 



Delhi boil is a painless ulcer, covered by a dry scab, which usually 

 occurs about the face, or other uncovered portions of the body. If the 



