8 
Filaria loa 
1864, described part of a worm removed from the eye of a negro in 
Gaboon. In 1877 Morton, of Philadelphia, published an account of a 
loa removed from the eye of a native of Gaboon, with a brief description 
of the worm by Leidy. The specimen had dried in transit. In this 
account we also find the first record of infections in Caucasians. 
Bachelor (1879), of Gaboon, extracted a specimen from the eye of a 
native and sent it perfectly preserved to the United States. Leuckart*® 
(1886) identified the species as distinct from the Guinea-worm; he had 
received a female 41 mm. long. 
In 1895 Manson<®> described a male Filaria loa removed from the 
eyelid of an Englishman who had been in West Africa; he also described 
a male and a female removed from the eye of an English lady who had 
been in Old Calabar. In the same year Ludwig described a female 
specimen removed from the eye of a Russian who had been in Fernando 
Po, Gaboon, Kamerun and the Gold Coast. The specimen had been 
injured in several places. Blanchard (1899) gave an extended account 
of the anatomy of a male and a female removed from the same host, 
who had been in the French Congo; these worms were quite young. In 
1901 Annett, Dutton, and Elliott obtained a female Filaria loa at 
Bonney but they did not report in regard to the host nor from what 
part of the body it was obtained. In 1903 two males and two females, 
sent from Nigeria, were briefly described by Ozzard. Looss® (1904) 
published a complete anatomical description of two specimens which 
had been sent to him from the Gold Coast and labelled Filaria loa 
without other data. The male was very slightly injured by forceps just 
behind the cephalic end. Ward*®* (1906) noted some points which he 
considered peculiar to the three males studied by him and referred to 
the admirable account of Looss for a complete description of their 
structiu’e. One of bis specimens had been sent to him mounted in 
balsam. This author gives a most complete critical bibliography on the 
morphology of Filaria loa as well as on all cases reported. He also 
calls attention to the cases which have been recoi’ded and wrongly 
assigned to Filaria loa. 
In the same year Livon and Penaud<^> (1906) observed a female but 
did not describe it. They report more fully in regard to the micro¬ 
filariae observed in the blood, urine, and saliva of the host as well as 
those which were hatched from eggs which had been artifically removed 
from the adult female. Later Billet (1906) described a male 
24 mm. x 0‘4 mm. He states that he agrees with Manson, Bernard, 
Blanchard, Ozzard, Penel, and Wurtz. He does not refer to Looss’ 
