RESEARCH IN BRITISH WEST AFRICA. 351 
on November 30th, and in the vicinity of the stream which passes this town 
caught ten G. tachinoides and three G. palpalis. Ue further adds :—“ If 
sleeping sickness did exist in Bebua it has disappeared now. Cattle trypano- 
somiasis does still exist to a certain extent. Bebua, for some reason which 
it is not easy to explain, is apparently an isolated patch of the district 
infested with Gilossina.” 
VIII. PROTOZOAL DISEASES IN MAN AND OTHER ANIMALS. 
Malaria. 
As in the other West African Colonies, this is by far the most prevalent insect- 
borne disease in Northern Nigeria, but of recent years the number of cases has 
been gradually diminishing, owing in part to the extensive use of quinine as a 
prophylactic, and further to the measures adopted to effect a diminution in the 
number of mosquitos. ‘The importance of the latter is now universally recognised, 
and much effective work has been done in this direction by the Medical Depart- 
ment. In order to strengthen its position in this matter, legislation is necessary, 
so that when once the sanitary officer has directed attention to any deficiency it 
should be made a punishable offence if this is not remedied within a reasonable 
time. 
Yellow Fever. 
So far as I could ascertain, no actual case of yellow fever has been reported 
from Northern Nigeria. But in view of the fact that it has recently been 
admitted that yellow fever is endemic in West Africa and has been reported 
from Southern Nigeria, and also that Stegomyia fasciata has been recorded from 
Lokoja, Baro, Geidam and Sokoto, in Northern Nigeria, stringent measures 
ought to be adopted to try if possible to exterminate this pest. It is now well 
known that this mosquito does not breed in large expanses of water or swamps 
but prefers small collections of water, such as one finds in tin cans and other small 
vessels. For this reason the disposal of the inevitable empty tins and such like 
is a matter for serious consideration, and it is to the individual houses and 
compounds that attention must be directed. Unfortunately in many cases the 
compounds around Huropean bungalows are very often not free from such small 
receptacles. Some attempt should therefore be made to have these collected 
regularly and buried, and to aid the sanitary officer in this work it should be 
made a punishable offence to have any such receptacle lying within a compound, 
and that even in the dry season. The gutters on the bungalows retaining, as 
they do, the collected moisture from the evening dew on the roofs, when not 
carefully supervised, often hold sufficient water for Stegomyia to breed. These 
ought to be properly sloped and regularly cleaned so that such collections of 
water would be impossible. 
It is unnecessary here to enter further into this matter as an instructive 
article by the late Sir Rubert Boyce on this subject has already appeared in this 
Bulletin.* 
* Bull. Ent. Res. I, pt. 4, pp. 233-263. 
