Handbook of Medical EntomologyRiley, William A. (William Albert)
Science
Handbook of Medical Entomology
Riley, William A. (William Albert)
Insect pests; Insects as carriers of disease; Medical parasitology
A type of purulent opthalmia which is very prevalent in Egypt is often
said to be carried by flies. Nuttall and Jepson (1909) consider that the
evidence regarding the spread of this disease by flies is conclusive and
that the possibility of gonorrhœal secretions being likewise conveyed
cannot be denied.
Many studies have been published, showing a marked agreement between the
occurrence of typhoid and other intestinal diseases and the prevalence
of house-flies. The most clear-cut of these are the studies of the Army
Commission appointed to investigate the cause of epidemics of enteric
fever in the volunteer camps in the Southern United States during the
Spanish-American War. Though their findings as presented by Vaughan
(1909), have been quoted very many times, they are so germane to our
discussion that they will bear repetition:
"Flies swarmed over infected fecal matter in the pits and fed upon the
food prepared for the soldiers in the mess tents. In some instances
where lime had recently been sprinkled over the contents of the pits,
flies with their feet whitened with lime were seen walking over the
food." Under such conditions it is no wonder that "These pests had
inflicted greater loss upon American soldiers than the arms of Spain."
Similar conditions prevailed in South Africa during the Boer War. Seamon
believes that very much of the success of the Japanese in their fight
against Russia was due to the rigid precautions taken to prevent the
spread of disease by these insects and other means.
Veeder has pointed out that the characteristics of a typical fly-borne
epidemic of typhoid are that it occurs in little neighborhood epidemics,
extending by short leaps from house to house, without regard to water
supply or anything else in common. It tends to follow the direction of
prevailing winds (cf. the conclusions of Hindle and Merriman). It occurs
during warm weather. Of course, when the epidemic is once well under
way, other factors enter into its spread.
In general, flies may be said to be the chief agency in the spread of
typhoid in villages and camps. In cities with modern sewer systems they
are less important, though even under the best of such conditions, they
are important factors. Howard has emphasized that in such cities there
are still many uncared-for box privies and that, in addition, the
deposition of feces overnight in uncared-for waste lots and alleys is
common.
Not only unicellular organisms, such as bacteria and protozoa, but also
the eggs, embryos and larvæ of parasitic worms have been found to be
transported by house-flies. Ransom (1911) has found that _Habronema
muscæ_, a nematode worm often found in adult flies, is the immature
stage of a parasite occurring in the stomach of the horse. The eggs or
embryos passing out with the feces of the horse, are taken up by fly
larvæ and carried over to the imago stage.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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