Tropical Diseases

Abstract

THE Bulletin of the St. Louis University for January, 1916, contains a report of the work of the expedition sent by the University to British Honduras last summer for the study of tropical diseases. This expedition, intentionally planned for the purpose of a preliminary study of methods of procedure, etc., illustrates the advantage of these research jexpeditions. It is not that laboratories do not exist and that research is not carried out in British Honduras, but such an expedition comes with a fresh outlook on problems, and matters which may be taken to be among the most ordinary events, scarcely worthy of record in. official reports, strike the members of an expedition with an entirely fresh force. We may illustrate this by two interesting examples, though perhaps not of great importance. We do not recollect in the official reports of British Honduras—and, indeed, it may be because one does not read official reports sufficiently carefully—the occurrence of poisoning, said to be common during the summer months, by the baracouta fish, nor do we recollect having heard of this on the West Coast of Africa, where the baracouta forms a welcome addition to the ordinary diet of skinny chickens. Again, the “botlass” fly (unidentified), after alighting on the skin, leaves a black, hard spot and the bite is very painful. This, again, to us is a new fact and one certainly that should be investigated.