EASTERN ETHIOPIA 
XXV 
The Sand Flea, or Jigger {Dermatophilus penetrans). A. I’he 
male. B, Tlie impregnated female. 
the skin whilst the eggs mature. The presence of the 
jigger causes irritation and pain : on examining the 
feet a small dark spot in the centre of a small 
swelling or blister will be seen. Usually only one 
‘ or two jiggers exist in the skin, but a score or 
more, even a hundred, may be present. The native 
boys, with a pin or a needle, carefully remove the 
insects intact if possible, and are very skilful and neat 
in extracting them. It is necessary to be careful to 
clean the wound left after the removal of the jigger 
with an antiseptic solution, for some of these small 
holes have been the starting-point of serious and some¬ 
times fatal erysipelas, septic infection, and tetanus. 
Europeans living in Africa are often troubled with 
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the disagreeable habit of readily attacking any warm¬ 
blooded animal. The natives walk about with bare 
feet ; therefore these parts suffer; but the ffea may 
penetrate the skin on any part of the body, even the 
hands and face. It is the impregnated female which 
causes the trouble, by burrowing obliquely into the 
skin of the sole, or that lining the clefts between 
the toes, or at the roots of the nails, until only 
the posterior segment is visible : the ffea remains in 
