Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1899-02-02
AN AFRICAN TERROR.
THE TSETSE FlYS BITE IS SURE
DEATH TO ANIMALS.

Science Has Tried In Vain to Find u
Remedy For the sting of the veno-
nous Little Insect-Its Poison Has
No Effect Upon Man.
A pest that fatally afflicts animals,
but not man. and has thus far been
confined to central and southern Africa,
is the subject of a report to the Royal
society, in England, by committee APP
pointed to investigate the matter. The
disease in question is the result of a
bite by fly scarcely larger than the
common house fly, and though its prog
ress is somewhat slower than that of the
poison from snake bite the effect is
equally deadly to OK, horse or dog. A
sting like that of mosquito leads to
symptoms resembling those Of cold,
and the animal grows steadily worse
until it dies, perhaps week or ten days
after the tiny wound was inflicted.
The Importance of malady of this
sort was so apparent that the Royal So
ciety appointed committee to study
IL
whether any cure could be found. A
good deal of interesting information is
presented in the report, but as yet, in
spite of some original and thorough ex-
periments, no remedy has been found
! for the disease. The most that science
can recommend at present is continu-
ance of the protective measures resorted
20 hxyf I,a, ,aha % II
tering animals over before they are TAX
en- into an infected district with manure
and other filthy substances
| The tsetse fly sucks blood, as does the
mosquito, and communicates it's poison
Internationally no doubt just as mos
quitoes are supposed to convey malarial
poison into the veins of their victims.
The mischief making agent in both in
stances appears to be a living organism,
a micIobe, characteristic in the one case
of malarial fever and in the other of TIL
strange and fatal tsetse disease. The
existence of the latter parasite was dis
covered by Surgeon Major Bruce several
years ago, after a careful study of the
sccurge. The fly is so abundant and
perniciously active in some regions that
they cannot be inhabited by horses and
cattle 1t is curious fact, though, that
man appears to be entirely unaffected
by it's bite.
The great advances made within the
last few years in bacteriology naturally
suggested to the Royal society investi-
gators line of experiment from which.
at the outset, it was reasonable to ex-
pect much. The first step was to obtain
specimens of the microbe. the next was
to look into his habits and relation
ships, and the third was to see what
could be done in the way of producing
an antitoxin from his poison.
The microbes wanted were taken
from the blood of dog that had been
infected with the disease on its way
home from Africa. Cultures were then
made in the usual manner Various
animals were inoculated with the para
sites and attempts were made to pre-
duce serum, such as is obtained for
snake bite, diphtheria and tetanus, that
would protect animals that had not
been attacked and cure those which
had. But the system which works SO
admirably with few of the best known
bacterial maladies does not seem to be
efficacious with that which results
from the bite Of the tsetse fly. Several
variations of the standard methods were
tried without success. Bile from diseased
animals was injected. for instance. So
were preparations containing the para
sites of kindred maladies. Dieting was
also resorted to. but yielded no pallia-
tive effects.
The inquiry of the committee was
carried on in such comprehensive
manner as to include comparison with
the tsetse infection of somewhat similar
phenomena noticed among rats in India
and elsewhere. Koch is said to have at
tributed a plague prevalent among In
dian rats to the tsetse parasite. The
Royal society committee does not con-
slider the point established, but the
identity of the African malady with
one observed in Algeria is more prob
able
One part Of the investigation conduct
ed by the committee related to the kinds
Of animals that are subject to the pest
under discussion. To obtain informa-
ton on this point, cats, dogs, rabbits,
mice, rats, guinea pigs and even hedge
hogs were inoculated. They proved sus-
ceptible to the disease. At first it was
suspected that the guinea pig was inn
mune, but while it responds more slow
ly than some other animals to the poison
it succumbs eventually. No recovery oc-
CURED after the parasites had once got
into the creatures blood. Not only does
the horse die in consequence of tsetse
fly bite but hybrid of the zebra and
ass does too. No hope of finding sub
stitute for the nobler animal that would
be proof against the disease was afford
ed by this test. Here, however. are
two or three comforting facts, although
they have little practical bearing OH
the problem presented. 1t seems proved
that the disease cannot be communicate
ed by eating the flesh Of an animal
which has died from it unless some
lesion exists in the mouth or food pas
sages. In other words, the poison must
be injected into the blood. The virus
rather quickly ceases to be infective.
Blood drawn from living diseased ami.
NAL loses this in three or four days at