TRnNsncrroNSoF rHE Royal SocmrvorTnoptcal MrorcrNERr¡n HvctrNr (1992)861329 329

of blood-sucking larvae (bangougnou in the local lan- guage) in the dwellings of their permanent camps. Sev- Short Report eral specimens of A. senegalensis, most of which were en- gorged with blood, were collected by sieving the sandy Infestation by Auchmeromyia soil in the dwellings; they were concentrated under the matting of the sleeping areas. In contrast, the larvae were senegalensís as a consequence of the not found in the temporary forest camps when Pygmies adopt¡on of non-nomadic life by were present. This may be related to the organic matter Pygm¡es ¡n the Congo Republic content of the forest soil and to the frequent moving of the nomadic camps, factors which are unfavourable to A. senegalensis (RouBAUD, 1914). This form of infestation of F. Noireau oRSToM, CP 9214, La Paz, Bolioia the Pygmies seems therefore to be a recent acquisition re- lated to their relinquishing a nomadic existence. The The Congo floor maggot is the blood-sucking larva of Bantus who live near the Pygmies are not affected by this the Auchmeromyia senegalensis (Diptera: Calliphori- larva and most of them had not heard of it. It is thus dae) which is specific to sub-Saharan Africa (DurroN ¿, probable that the Congo floor maggot disappeared com- al.,1904). The original specific name given to the fly, A. pletely from Bantu dwellings a long time ago. §7hen luteola, has recently been corrected to A . senegalezsis as human hosts are not available, A. senegalensis can survive used by Macquart in 1851 (PoNr, 1980). The ecology only near an host, probably a wild such as the and biology of this have been extremely well doc- gialt forest-hog, which is a common animal in this forest umented by Rouseuo (1914) and Gannrr-JoNrs reglon. (1950). The are usually found in the immediate vi- cinity of, or inside, human dwellings. The females lay References -,-5r Boreham, P.F.L. & Geigy, R. (1976). Culverts and trypano- their eggs on the sandy floor, and after hatching the lar- some transmission in the Serengeti National Park (Tanza- vae bury themselves into the ground and come out at nia). 3. Studies on the genus Auchmeronyia Brauer and night for a blood meal. A. senegalensis was initially con- (Diptera: (Ganner-JoNrs, Bergenstamm ). Acta Tropica, 33, sidered to be specific to man 1950), but 74-97. was later it discovered in the entrances to burrows of ant- Dutton, J. 8., Todd, J. L. & Christy, C. (1904). The Congo bears and , and also associated with the domes- floor maggot-a blood sucking dipterous larva found in tic pig (Gucv & Hnnsrc, 1954; Moucuer & RAcBRU, Congo Free State. Reports of the Trypanosomiasis Expedition L964; Zvnpr, 1965). Blood meal analyses of fed larvae to the Congo, 1903-1904. Liverpool School of Tropical Me- collected in Kenya, in regions uninhabited by man, dicine, Memoir no. 13, pp. 49-54. showed that warthogs, and occasionally , were the Garret-Jones, C. (1950). The Congo floor maggot, Auchmero- natural hosts (BoneHnu & Gulcy, L976). It has been myia luteola in a laboratory culture. Bulletin of Entomological suggested that A. senegalensis might transmit Trypano- Research, 41, 679-708 soma brucei non-cyclically among hyenas (Gucv & Geigy, R. & Herbig, A. (1954). Erreger und Ubertráger tropi- KnurrMANN, 1977). At the beginning of the 20th cen- scher Krankheiten . Acta Tropica,6, supplement, 377 . tury, this fly was common throughout the former French Geigy, R. & Kauffmann, M. (1977). Experiments on trypano- Congo (RouseuD, 1914), though nowadays the Congo some transmission by Auchmeromyia luteola larvae. Acta floor maggot is seldom found. This is related to the im- Tropica,34,97-98. Mouchet, Rageau, (1964). Les arthropodes provement in the standard of living, such as the replace- J. & J. d'intérét (Nord-Cameroun) ment of matting by beds depriving the larvae of their médical du Diamaré . Recherches et Érudes Camerounaisesrg,145. sources of food and, in certain cases, the cementing of (Zvtv*r, Pont, A. C. (1980). Family Calliphoridae. In: Catalogue of the floors of dwellings 1965). Diptera of the Afrotropical Region, Crosskey, R. §f . (editor). populations The Pygmy of the Chaillu mountains in London: British Mpseum (Natural History), pp. 779-800. the CotrBo, originally nomads, adopted a sedentary life Roubaud, E. (1914). Etudes sur la Faune Parasitaire de I'Afrique style about 10 years ago on the outskirts of the Bantu vil- Occidentale Frangaise. l. Les Producteurs de Myiases et Agents lages. However, certain family groups leave the villages Similaires chez I'Homme et les Animaur. Paris: E. Larose. temporarily to stay in camps in the heart of the forest. In Zumpt, F. (1965). Myiasis in Man and in the Old \Vorld. spite of their non-nomadic life, conditions remain primi- London: Butterworth. tive and they sleep on matting on the floor of their dwell- ings. During a survey on biting carried out in the Receioed 28 June l99l; reoised 13 September l99l; ac- Chaillu mountains, the Pygmies mentioned the presence cepted for publication 17 September l99l

Announcement

Continuing Medical Education and Training in Europe: the Future Royal College of Physicians, London, UK l-2 October 1992 The conference is designed to examine critically the educational and political implications for medical training in Europe following harmonization in 1992. Further information can be obtained from: Dr M. W, N. Nicholls or Mrs J. M. Coops, The Conference Office, c/o The Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine, 6 St Andrew's Place, London, Nrü(/l 4LB, [JK. Telephone: (44) (0)71 935 5556; fax: (44) (0)71 224 3219.