The Greenville enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1870-1873, 1872-10-16
Fron NE Caarisssea Ra.se.. ~,
"A New Harror--A Ferecishs para.
sito Tak-n from o Mans Leg.

seh, to the CIV HfspiiafefraRiSt6e
British. bark GeorgiaEa.awlio was
shppo- ed to be suffering from a
sore leg. The man liad fbean all !
ing for near three i,l6n tbs, 'bu,
n"ne OF his sl,ipmate, spppcssd
that there ,was anything, sfrions
the matter Will, him. According
ly, when, a few DAYS ,bef,me Ilis re
.moyal T., The hospital, he. declared
himselt unable To- walk about /, tbe
captain of ,lhe, ship snRiSsssiViha,
cheswas endeavorillgs IA make, 4a1l
exesessat.s getting axau.tsosn, Jl,e
vessel, that he hiniyht he lsftliin
port, the ship being prepared tu
sail aiu IL few d,t,s. When re.
moved TO the aln'spital.s the mans
right ley was very much swollen.
and manifested all the symptoms
of erysipelas. for which nlalady
his affection y as AZ first mistaken.
At the end of a few days, however.
an ab,cess formed nponlthe inner
side al The ankle, from wlncli. at
tel it had burst, prntruded about
three inches of u white, inembran.
"us looking substance, about an
eighth of au inch III diameter
This singular manifestation in.
duced careful examination ui
the ley. which developed The fact
that the man was afflicted with
the drucuncuI1s, or Guinea worm.
This is a h"rrlble pa, asi,e, found
only along the shores at the ln~
dian Ocean. Red Sea aud certain
portinns If the Mediterranean. 1t
intes's damp and muddy soils and
impure water, and generally AT
lacks the feet and legs, bur some
times other portions "f The bod,
Al the time that it for ;akes lis ma
tive element for The more lnxuri
Gus habiIariun 81 fle.h aud blood,
it is scarcely larger than a com.
mon flea; bur. having ono, buried
itself beneath the skin, 1t grows
with alarming rapidly, and will
attain size varying from six
inches t" six feet III length. b,
"ne twelftr to one eigth ot All incl
in diameter. tiles dormant unit
it reaches the age OF maturity
after which it commences a series
of wanderings aud M anderings
ab"nr the muscles and bnnes. wh,cl
cause intense pain To the unsus
pecting victim 1t always travels
dpwhwarGs, and with snch rapid,
ity that it will sometimes trave
the whole length of the huma,
frame in twenty four hnnrs. /
will soinetimes come 10 the surface
and lie under the ekin like a long
white cord, but should the surgeon
attempt I" extract it W th the kmie
without first securing it with 3
nirper, it will elude his grasp anC
scanlrer away with the agility n
an eel. Ii 1t portion of the worn
is removed, tie remaining porti"l
will not die, but continues as ca,
and lively as ever. Tie first symp
toms of the Guinea worm are /;
disagreeahle icl,img aud irrila
lion "t the Infected parts. AiteI
1t begins to move about, its path,
are followed by ex ernaI assesses
and when the paths lic along ;llt
stomach. internal ab>ces,es also
1t always ultlnIatel y endeavors tt
leave the system by working 1t.
way through the skin. z ncrally
near tle ankle, bnt Ibis is only
after il ha, lett from ten to tifteei
young behind. The usual mum Oe,
ot worms That are found IN On,
person varies from one la fifty
There is one case on record. how.
ever, ot Il man dying from the
effects "f the Guinea worm, whose
body ana skin were nothing but y
net work of these horrible cre;..
lures. Death rarely results from
The ravagcs of this worm, and
when 1t dues. il is generally the
result Of some disease produced
by the illumination aud other ef-
tects OF the worms wanderings.-
The Guinea worm does not Com
tlne i:s raya2es 10 man, ,but will
also attack d rs and horses. The
sailor III question made u voyage
to The eastern coast of Africa
about six months ago, and while
there, received the parasites into
his system One of these worms
-has alrea1y been extracted from
his righl leg, but ano,herlIas mace
it's appearance in the ieft lie il
dong as well Is can be expec O..
under the circumstances. This il
probably the first case of the kind
ever known III Charleston.
The B"s,on Post says: lex
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