3^4 



TRYPANOSOMIDM 



Method of Infection. — As indicated above, the method of infection 

 would be by swallowing the arthropod or some of its faecal matter 

 containing cysts, or by faecal contamination of its cutaneous bite, 

 or by both methods. 



Archibald's evidence is against an insect as the infective agent of 

 kala-azar in the Sudan, which he suggests is water-borne, in which 

 case it might come from the faeces of insect larvae or an aquatic 

 arthropod. 



Treatment of Infections. — Preparations of arsenic and of antimony 

 are of great benefit in treating cases of herpetomoniasis or Leish- 

 maniasis. 



Prevention. — Dodds, Price, and Young seem to have had some 

 success in segregating the infected human cases and removing the 

 healthy to new abodes, and on theoretical grounds it would appear 

 that if herpetomoniasis was endemic in any region, this should be 

 examined for — 



{a) Possible vertebrate reservoir; 

 (6) Possible arthropod carrier; 



and if these are found, even if they are only possible, steps should 

 be taken to protect the inhabitants from them. 



Genus Herpetomonas Kent, 1881. 



Synonyms.— 5o^?o Stein, pro parte ; Cercomonas Dujardin, pro parte ; and 

 -perhsips Leptomonas Kent. 



Definition. — -Herpetomoninae elongated, rod-like, with a single flagellum. 

 The kineto nucleus is situated near the posterior end, so that the flagellum is 

 not attached to the side of the body, but becomes free at once and projects 

 posteriorly. There is no undulating membrane. The contractile vacuole 

 is situate quite close to the posterior extremity. The trophonucleus lies about 

 the middle of the parasite, and possesses an achromatic substance with 

 chromatic granules interspersed. The anterior end is tapering. 



Type Species. — Herpetomonas musccs-domesticcB 'Burnett, 1851. 



History. — The genus Herpetomonas was created in 1881 by Saville Kent for 

 Burnett's i?o(?o musccB-domseticcB, and since then many flagellates have, rightly 



or wrongly, been classified under this genus. The life-cycles have been studied 

 by Leger in 1903; Prowazek, 1904; Patton, 1907-08; Berliner, 1909; and Miss 

 Porter, 191 1. At the present time there are two different views concerning 

 the characters of the genus: {a) Prowazek's view, supported by Chatton, 

 Alilaire, and Berliner, that it is biflagellate ; [b) Patton's view, supported by 

 Miss Porter and others, that it is uniflagellate (a view which our observations 

 support) . 



Remarks. — The species of Herpetomonas, though not parasitic in human 

 beings, are important to the student of tropical medicine, as they are parasitic 

 in insects. Thus, Herpetomonas muse cb- domestic cs Burnett is parasitic in the 

 intestinal canal of 8 per cent, of the house-flies (Prowazek), while others are 

 found in fleas and bugs. 



