Annual report on the Medical Research Institute / 1909-.

  • Nigeria. Medical Research Institute.
Date:
[1923]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on the Medical Research Institute / 1909-. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    19/34 (page 17)
    In Case (15) embryos have not been found although repeated examinations have been made. The swellings cause much less dis¬ turbance and occur only occasionally, the worm is less often seen in the eye but has more frequently been noted on the chest, back of hand, temple, nose, forehead and eyelid. In Case (17) the swellings have been very infrequent, a worm has not been seen or felt in the eye, and no embryos have been found in the blood. In Case (18) there have been no swellings since last report (18 months) and a worm has not visited the eye. In Case (24) a worm has not again appeared in the eye, the swellings only last a day or two and there is a much longer interval of freedom. Enbryos were not found in the blood on this occasion. In Case (25) there have been no signs of infection. In Case (27) there have been no swellings for nearly two years, and the last visit to the eye occurred seven years ago. In Case (28) there have been no signs of the infection since the last report. In Case (29), the worm lias not been seen in the eye since last report (nearly two years) and no other signs have been noted. FILARIAL EMBRYOS FROM THE SKIN. The results obtained by Dr. Maclie and Dr. Corson on the Gold Coast, in 1922 regarding the presence of embryos of Onchocerca volvulus in the skin and their finding, during their research, a hitherto undescribed embryo, prompted an investigation on the same lines, in Lagos. Dr. C. J. H. Sharp, who, at the time was in charge of the clinical laboratory at the Colonial Hospital collected the material, and sent his positive findings to the Institute. The method adopted was similar to that used in Accra, a small piece of skin, similar to that used in the Reverdin method of skin grafting, was snipped off and teased out in saline. Fifty-five natives were thus examined in Lagos and embryos were found in six. In two of these in addition to the embryos of O. volvulus, the embryos described by Macfie and Corson as Agamofilaria Btrepto- cerca wrere observed. In one of these cases only two of the latter were found amongst twenty examples of the former. In the other case, there were three specimens of A. streptocerca and only one of 0. volvulus. As regards the embryos of O. volvulus the following table gives the measurements obtained in each case. The specimens were simply dried in the air fixed in Methyl Alcohol and stained either with Giemsa or Ehrlich’s Acid Hsematoxyline. They were drawn to scale with the aid jf the camera lucida and measured with a pair of compasses. MEASUREMENTS IN MICRONS. Case. Number Measured. Greatest Length. Smallest Length. Average Length. Greatest Breadth. Smallest Breadth. Average Breadth. 1 29 320 240 281 7 4 f5 2 26 322 245 283 5 5 5 3 20 325 230 271 6 4 5 4 16 279 215 255 6 4 5 5 3 297 282 288 5 5 5 6 1 306 306 306 6 6 6