Annual report on the Medical Research Institute / 1909-.

  • Nigeria. Medical Research Institute.
Date:
[1913]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

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

    16/22 (page 12)
    8(5. The third case was met with at Itu. Ten or twelve encysted larvae were recovered from the liver and a lesser number from the lungs. 87. The fourth case came from the Ahoada district. There were live encysted larvae in the liver and the peritoneal covering showed a number of cicatricial patches. 88. The fifth case was in a Kroo-boy at Degema. There were larvae in the liver and one was found in the mesentery. 89. Drs. Macfie and Johnston think that sufficient evidence of disease was detected at the necropsy on the first two cases to account for death, apart from the presence of the larvae. The other three cases, however, were different. The clinical picture was the same in all three, progressive weakness, oedema and dyspnoea; the pathological findings were the same, and there were no definite signs, apart from the presence of the larvae, to account for the illness. (e) Spikochaetosis. 90. A fatal disease amongst fowls was investigated by Drs. Macfie and Johnston and the results were published as “A Note on the Occurrence of Spirochaetosis of Fowls in Southern Nigeria, ” in the Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Yol. YI1I, No. 1, 21st April, 1914, pp. 41 to 46. 91. The disease was studied in Muscovy ducks and fowls, sent from Iju, near Lagos, by the late Mr. Harris. The signs of the affection are given—fever, diarrhoea, anaemia, paresis, and somnolence. After death the body was found to be wasted, and the tissues pale. The spleen was always considerably enlarged, but the outstanding feature was the enlarged liver, which showed, in addition, necrotic patches. 92. The spirochaete appeared to be very similar to that described bjr Balfour in fowls in the Soudan. The parasites varied greatly in length, 9 to 2/ microns or more, and the spirals varied in number, from 3 or 4 to 12 or 14. The latter, however, appeared to consist of two spirochaetes, united by a fine filament. The spirals were either close or open. Both ends of the body tapered, and one end was often seen curled up. In some individuals chromatin dots were distinct. Breaks or gaps in the central core were also observed. Some of the parasites appeared to be made up of two spirochaetes, in an attitude suggestive of longitudinal division. 93. Amongst the blood changes observed, large vacuolated mononuclears are noted, and also ingestion of the red cells. 94. A rat was inoculated subcutaneously from a Muscovy duck. Although countless numbers of Spirochaetes were present in the blood of the bird, none appeared in the blood of the rat, and no signs of illness developed. 95. Atoxyl, three fiftieths of a grain, and Salvarsan, 0002 gram, were administered subcutaneously in the treatment of disease in fowls. Two out of three birds treated with the former recovered, as did also the two which were injected with the latter. 96. The “After-Phase” bodies of Balfour are discussed. The authors state that they did not succeed in convincing themselves of their occurrence. The article concludes with a discussion as to the identity of the particular spirochaete found. The belief is expressed that the parasite is morphologically, and in its pathological effects, similar to Sp. marcliouxi.