[Reports, 1914-19 / Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine].

  • Australian Institute of Tropial Medicine
Date:
1914-1920
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: [Reports, 1914-19 / Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

    58/126 (page 6)
    At the request of the Director of Quarantine the efficiency of an apparatus for the cresyl disinfection of rooms, in regard to the destruction of mosquitoes in the adult and larval stages, has been undertaken in conjunction with ]\Ir. Taylor. The onset of the cold weather, and the consequent difficulty in obtaining mosquitoes in large numbers, interfered with this work, and only a few experiments on a large scale have been done, but a very large number of mosquito larvse have now been obtained and the investigations will shortly be recommenced. The experiments so far performed do not justify the forming of any conclusions. In conjunction with Dr. Young, some observations were begun on the effects of violent exercise, during the hot weather, on the pulse, blood pressure, respiration, body temperature and composition of alveolar air, but with the rather sudden onset of cool weather it was decided to postpone the observations until the next hot season. A good deal of work has been done in investigating the fungi causing skin disease in residents of Townsville, and in soldiers returned from New Guinea and other places. From two cases of tinea inguinalis in soldiers epidermophyton cruris has been isolated, the cultural and miscroscopical appearance of the fungus being typical. From a soldier from New Guinea presenting an extensive erythrosquameous eruption a fungus has been isolated which is still under investigation. Tliis fungus is very polymorphic in its growth, and is characterized by the production of a beautiful plum-coloured discoloration of glucose agar under a white or creamy-coloured growth with a short duvet. Microscopically it appears to belong to the group of Achorions, of animal origin. I inoculated myself from a culture of this fungus, and obtained an erythrosquameous patch about 2 cmm. by 1.5 cmm., with five or six minute pustules. A culture has been obtained from skin scales from this patch. Another variety of fungus has been obtained from two cases of an excematous condition between the toes. In one of the cases there was, in addition, a circinate scaly eruption on the inner side of the thigh which did not spread to any extent and healed spontaneously. From this also was obtained the same fungus. The fungus is a quick- growing one and belongs to the small-spored ectothrid group of trichophytons, but differs in many respects from any of the members hitherto described. A fungus has been isolated from a case of onchoyeosis, but so far no spores have been observed, and it has been impossible to determine its genus. Jt is characterized by the well-marked concentric structure of its colonies on Sabourand's agar and glucose agar.- Cultures from various sources of free-living amoebae have been made with a view to studying the morphology of the amoebae, and to compare them with human entamoebae. A latent case of amoebic dysentery is now under observation at the, Townsville Hospital. At the request of the Director-General of Medical Services I attended a Conference in Sydney, in January, to discuss the treatment of returned soldiers suffering from malaria, and the possibility of the introduction of malaria, by these men, into parts of Australia where malaria is hitherto not endemic. A number of recommendations were drafted and forwarded to the Minister for Defence, and in consequence ,of these, all men returning from New Guinea and a number from other places with malaria are now being sent to Townsville. for treatment. A number of men have already been sent here, and have entailed a considerable amount of work, which has been done by Dr. Breinl and myself. A large number of examinations of sputa for tubercle baciUi, of pus for gonococci, of blood for Widal reaction, and other similar .'examinations,|have been done for the Hospital and for local practitioners. KEPORT FOR JANUARY TO JUNE, 1916. By F. H. Taylor. During the past six months the following work has been done. Investigations into the value of potassium cyanide as a larvacide, on the lines laid down by Ronald Ross and E. S. Edie {Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Vol. Y., page 385, 1911), have been undertaken with varying success. The results have, on the whole, been in conformity with those of Ross and Edie. It has been found that the dilutions cited by these authors are most destructive against the egg, and