The Animal Parasites of ManFantham, Harold Benjamin
Science
The Animal Parasites of Man
Fantham, Harold Benjamin
Medical parasitology
The decision reached at the beginning of the last decade of the
last century, which found expression in comprehensive statements
(Mannaberg, Ziemann and others), only concerned a part of the
complete development of the malarial parasites. No one could with
any degree of certainty demonstrate how man became infected, nor
were there reliable hypotheses based on analogy with other parasites
concerning the exit of the excitants of malaria from the infected
person and their further behaviour. Numerous hypotheses had been
advanced, but none was able to elucidate the various observations
made from time to time in dealing with malaria. One hypothesis only
seemed to have a better foundation. Manson (1894), who knew from
his own experience the part played by mosquitoes in the development
of Filaria from the blood of man, applied this also to the malarial
parasites living in the blood, whereby at least the way was indicated
by which the Hæmosporidia could leave man. The parasites were said
finally to get into water through mosquitoes which had sucked the
blood of malarial patients, and the germ spread thence to men who
drank the water. In some cases the parasites were supposed to reach
man by the inhaling of the dust of dried marshes. On the other
hand, Bignami believed that the mosquitoes were infected in the
open air by malarial parasites which occurred there in an unknown
stage and the insects transmitted the germs to man when biting. R.
Koch combined both hypotheses, without, however, producing positive
proof. R. Ross, then (1897–8) an English military doctor in India,
was the first to succeed in this. He had been encouraged by Manson
to study the fate of malarial _Plasmodia_ which had entered the
intestine of mosquitoes with malaria-infected blood, especially in
the case of the _Plasmodium_ (_Proteosoma_) living in the blood of
birds. He showed that the _Proteosoma_ penetrate the intestinal wall
of the mosquitoes, grow and develop into large cysts which produce
innumerable rod-like germs, which burst into the body cavity and
penetrate the salivary glands. Ross allowed mosquitoes to suck the
blood of birds affected by malaria, and some nine days later, let
the infected mosquitoes which had been isolated suck healthy birds.
After five to nine days _Proteosoma_ were found to occur in the blood
of the birds used. The _Proteosoma_ and _Halteridium_ of birds were
also further investigated by MacCallum (1897–8), Koch and others, and
important results followed.
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