cattle. This same year, French investigators, Railliet, Moussu and 
Henry (1911), confirmed the finding of the Italian investigators. Fol¬ 
lowing this, male fern derivatives were marketed as proprietary reme¬ 
dies by French, German and Hungarian firms. Floris (1907; 1908) 
reported that carbon bisulphid is effective in removing Fasciola hep- 
atica, but no one appears to have investigated his claims. Marek 
(1916) came to the conclusion that kamala was more effective in 
destroying liver flukes than was male fern, but later (Marek, 1917) 
he concluded on the basis of further experiments that the best treat¬ 
ment for liver flukes was by means of the administration of male 
fern derivatives in lipoid solution. Such a lipoid-soluble preparation 
is now being marketed in Europe. The efficacy of male fern and 
kamala against Fasciola hepatica evidently depends on the blood¬ 
sucking habit of the fluke, as the lancet fluke, Dicrocoelium dendriti- 
cum, which also occurs in the bile ducts, but is not a blood-sucker, 
is not affected by these drugs. According to Marek (1916), the 
active phloroglucin derivatives of male fern and kamala are absorbed 
in the intestine and carried to the liver in the portal circulation, and 
are there taken in by the liver flukes as they feed on blood. 
BLOOD FLUKES IN MAN 
The human blood flukes, more especially Schistosoma haemato¬ 
bium, but apparently S. japonicum and S. mansoni also, may be de¬ 
stroyed by anthelmintic treatment. According to Cawston (1921), 
S. bovis may be destroyed in the same manner. Joannides (1911) 
reported injections of salvarsan as curative in 8 cases, but Conor 
(1911), Fuelleborn and Werner (1912), and Day and Richards (1912) 
have been unable to confirm his findings. Diamantis (1917; 1918) 
found emetine of value in destroying blood flukes, and though his 
findings were not substantiated by Morel and Maldonado (1918), 
they have since been substantiated by the work of Mayer (1918), 
Erian (1918), Balfour (1920), Day (1921), Tsykalas (1921) and others 
in thousands of cases. This drug, emetine, has been given intra¬ 
venously, subcutaneously and intramuscularly in the treatment of 
68 
