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Malaria at Karnal, at the School of Tropical Medicine at Calcutta and also
al Bangalore but a great deal has yet to be done before a proper under-
standing of the habits of the different important insects is achieved.

HELMINTHOLOGICAL RESEARCH.

   Very little research on medical helminthology, except that done at the
Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine, has been carried out in India in
recent years and at this institution the primary object is to produce
results of economic value.

    2. One of the principal lines of research there is the continuous
attempt that is being made to improve the treatment of intestinal
helminthic infections especially that of hookworm. We have no facilities
for the preparation of new drugs so have had to depend on other countries,
and for some years a group of American workers have been employed on
synthesising new compounds of possible anthelminthic value. It has
always been the experience of workers in India that reliance cannot be
placed on the figures of these workers in America regarding the curative
effect of the new drugs when administered to Indians, so we try out these
drugs ourselves.

    3. Only two promising anthelminthics have been produced recently,
these are tetrachlorethylene and hexylresorcinol. Thorough trial of these
drugs in India has indicated that the former is probably the best drug we
have for treating hookworm infection, when all points of view are taken
into consideration. Hexylresorcinol was not found of much use and had
the additional disadvantages of being expensive and needing rigid dietary
precautions to be effective.

    4. The discovery by officers of the R. A. M. C. in England, that
British troops are infected in India with Cysticercus cellulosac, with
relative frequency and that this often leads to incurable and fatal epilepsy
from brain involvement, is a matter of great importance. A study of the
literature on Taenia solium and C. cellulosac in regard to India left the
impression that this condition was not common in this country so the
relatively high rate of infection in British troops is hard to explain on
existing information. Funds and staff were not available for an extensive
survey but inquiries showed that infected pigs are relatively common in
Calcutta slaughterhouses and in those of other places, especially in
Southern India, but human infection is very rarely encountered either
with the adult or larval worm. Tracing back through some infected pigs
killed in Calcutta to the district of their origin and examination of a few
pig breeders soon revealed one case of T. solium infection. This is all
that could be done at the time but it indicates the probability that our
knowledge of the extent of T. solium and C. collulosae infection in India
is very deficient and, in view of its importance, more extended work
should be carried out with the idea of introducing prophylaxis at the
source.

Contributed by Dr. P. A. Maplestone, D.S.O., D. Sc., M.B.B.S.