The Demonstration of Sporozoites in Human Tissues

Abstract

Although it is likely that most of the sporozoites discharged by an infectious mosquito at the moment of biting are expelled into the interior of a capillary and are immediately carried to remote situations, considerable interest attaches to the possibility of detecting sporozoites in the intervascular tissues adjacent to the site of the bite. From time to time within a period of several years we have been making such searches, and desire at this time to report the results. They may be considered in two groups, namely, those made on tissues removed from the immediate site of the bite, and those made on tissues removed at a more remote, but not distant, area. A. Observations at the immediate site of inoculation—In these instances, the skin and subcutaneous tissue about the site where a single infectious mosquito was applied was aseptically removed under local anesthesia as soon as possible after the removal of the mosquito.