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Microfilariae in dejecta of mosquitoes
537 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE. Vol. 48. No. 6. November, 1954.
CORRESPONDENCE To the Editor
" MICROFILARIAE IN DEJECTA OF MOSQUITOES " SIR,--REID (1953) reported finding microfilariae in blood-tinted dejecta passed by Anopheles barbirostris whilst feeding on a patient whose blood contained microfilariae of Wuchereria malayi. KARTMAN(1953) reported a similar finding when Anopheles quadrimaculatus fed on a dog harbouring Dirofilaria immitis. Durin~ recent work on problems associated with filarial transmission, the dejecta of Aedes aegypti and Culex fatigans passed after feeding on monkeys infected with Dirofilaria aethiops, and patients with Wuchereria bancrofti respectively has been studied. At the time of feeding, both species of mosquito pass clear fluid but after 2-3 days, for a period of 24 to 48 hours, dejecta containing the remains of the blood meal are passed, and in this, microfilariae of both filarial infections have frequently been found. The number of microfilariae passed varies greatly with individual mosquitoes. These findings help to explain the gradual reduction in the number of microfilariae found in mosquitoes dissected on consecutive days following an infected blood-meal. It may also explain the lack of relationship between the number of mierofilariae in the peripheral circulation during a blood meal and the number of developmental forms found later (SMITtl, 1952). Further work on these problems is being carried out.
I am, etc., MWANZA, TANGANYIKA,
PETER jORDAN.
8th August, 1954. REFERENCES KARTMAN,L. (1953). .7. parasit., 39, 571. REID, J. A. (1953). Trans. R. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg., 47, 84. SMITH, A. (1952). Annual Report of FiIariasis Research Unit, 1951. E. A. High Commission.
THE SHAPE OF THE PROSTATE GLAND IN GEOGRAPHICAL FORMS OF EHRENBERG
Biomphalaria alexandrina
SIR,--In reading the paper by RANSON(1953) on the classification of African Planorbinae I was struck by one character noticeable in his drawings of the genitalia. In the figures of these organs in Biomphalaria, two different types can be distinguished. One type has the prostate long, with 4-12 branched diverticula ; it is recorded from (1) Ghat, Fezzan, Libya, (Fig. 6, p. 807, identified as "r@pellii"), (2) from Bossangoa, Uham river, French Equatorial
CORRESPONDENCE To the Editor
" MICROFILARIAE IN DEJECTA OF MOSQUITOES " SIR,--REID (1953) reported finding microfilariae in blood-tinted dejecta passed by Anopheles barbirostris whilst feeding on a patient whose blood contained microfilariae of Wuchereria malayi. KARTMAN(1953) reported a similar finding when Anopheles quadrimaculatus fed on a dog harbouring Dirofilaria immitis. Durin~ recent work on problems associated with filarial transmission, the dejecta of Aedes aegypti and Culex fatigans passed after feeding on monkeys infected with Dirofilaria aethiops, and patients with Wuchereria bancrofti respectively has been studied. At the time of feeding, both species of mosquito pass clear fluid but after 2-3 days, for a period of 24 to 48 hours, dejecta containing the remains of the blood meal are passed, and in this, microfilariae of both filarial infections have frequently been found. The number of microfilariae passed varies greatly with individual mosquitoes. These findings help to explain the gradual reduction in the number of microfilariae found in mosquitoes dissected on consecutive days following an infected blood-meal. It may also explain the lack of relationship between the number of mierofilariae in the peripheral circulation during a blood meal and the number of developmental forms found later (SMITtl, 1952). Further work on these problems is being carried out.
I am, etc., MWANZA, TANGANYIKA,
PETER jORDAN.
8th August, 1954. REFERENCES KARTMAN,L. (1953). .7. parasit., 39, 571. REID, J. A. (1953). Trans. R. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg., 47, 84. SMITH, A. (1952). Annual Report of FiIariasis Research Unit, 1951. E. A. High Commission.
THE SHAPE OF THE PROSTATE GLAND IN GEOGRAPHICAL FORMS OF EHRENBERG
Biomphalaria alexandrina
SIR,--In reading the paper by RANSON(1953) on the classification of African Planorbinae I was struck by one character noticeable in his drawings of the genitalia. In the figures of these organs in Biomphalaria, two different types can be distinguished. One type has the prostate long, with 4-12 branched diverticula ; it is recorded from (1) Ghat, Fezzan, Libya, (Fig. 6, p. 807, identified as "r@pellii"), (2) from Bossangoa, Uham river, French Equatorial