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had died in 1900. Later in the same year Donovan . (1903) independently
found it in the spleen of living cases. In 1904 and 1905 Christophers
wrote his classical descriptions of the pathology of kala-azar and in the
same year the parasite was recorded by Castellani from Ceylon and Bentley
from Assam, the latter observation establishing it as the cause of the
dreaded kala-azar of that province. The next big step in the study of the
disease was Rogers' demonstration (1904) by culture that the parasite was
a flagellate. This was followed in 1907 by Patton's discovery that the
parasite assumes the flagellate form in the bed-bug, indicating an insect as
the probable vector and, in 1912, his clear account of the development of
the various forms of the parasite in the bed bug. Mackie (1913), working
in Assam was the first worker to suggest the genus Phlebotomus as worthy
of study in connection with the transmission problem. In 1915, the
tartar emetic treatment of kala-azar, first used in Europe by Cristina and Caronia
was introduced into Indian practice by Rogers and was the only treat
-ment tried, up to that time, which was of specific benefit. Between this
date and 1921, the efficacy of treatment with the inorganic salts of anti
-mony was fully established by the work of Rogers, Muir, Knowles and
others.
4. The first of the serum tests for the diagnosis of kala-azar was
Brahmachari's globulin precipitation test, described in 1917. In 1921
Spackman introduced for kala-azar a modification of the formal-gel test
of Gaté and Papacosta, first used in syphilis. The test was further
popularised by Napier. The modern treatment of kala-azar may be said
to have commenced in 1922, with the introduction by Brahmachari
of urea stibamine but it was the work of Shortt and Sen (1923) which
established its use and opened the field of treatment by this and other
organic preparations of antimony, such as Bayer 471 which was subse
-quently used. by Napier.
5. In 1922 Brahmachari gave the first description of dermal
leishmanoid and Shortt and Brahmachari (1923) gave. the first description
of its pathology. Fuller studies, clinical and pathological, were later
made by Acton and Napier. Shortt (1923) demonstrated for the first
time the presence of L . donovani in the urine of cases of kala-azar. In
1924 P . argentipes first assumed importance in connection with transmis
-sion and the sequence of events was as follows. Mackie (1915), in Assam,
among other insects, undoubtedly dissected P. argentipes although he did
not identify the insect by name. Shortt (1924) was the. first specifically
to record P. argentipes in connection with kala-azar in Assam and dis
-sected several specimens obtained in kala-azar houses and containing
mammalian blood. Knowles, Napier and Smith (1924) finally focussed
attention on P. argentipes by showing that L . donovani flagellated in its
gut and state that they were led to study this insect by a private co
m-munication from Sinton in 1922 pointing out the correlation in the
dis-tribution of kala-azar and P . argentipes. Just prior to this announce
-ment an important landmark in research on kala-azar was the formation
1924 of the kala-azar commission, the personnel consisting of Lieut.-
Col. S. R. Christophers, I.M.S as Director, and Major H. E. Shortt,
I.M.S., and Captain P. J. Barraud as protozoologist and entomologist