PARASITE’S BITE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 April 1938, Page 8

PARASITE’S BITE

SAID TO HAVE CAUSED MAN’S DEATH ENTOMOLOGISTS DENY CHARGE A middle-aged man who died in Christchurch last week from a blood infection is said by friends to have attributed the start of his illness to a bite from the parasite introduced into New Zealand to combat the white butterfly pest. Although this is the first fatal case in which the parasite has been named as initially responsible, there have been other instances when the insect has been blamed for illness. Entomologists have denied the allegation that these insects are dangerous to human beings, but the impression that they are is widely held. One doctor said that in Timaru it was taken for granted by many people that the cause of some blood infections could be attributed to the parasite. One case reported some time ago was that of a woman, who said that she had been stung by one of the parasites while she was working in her garden. She suffered from a badly poisoned leg and was forced to stay in bed for two or three weeks. It was reported that the parasites had been liberated in the garden in which she was working. “ As far qs the Christchurch fatality is concerned, the doctor' who had charge of the case said that he was not aware that his patient blamed the parasite for his condition, although the man told him that he believed he had been bitten by an insect. When the doctor saw him his arm was in so bad a state from poisoning that it was impossible to see any sign of the original puncture. The story that the parasite was responsible for the illness is, however, widely circulated and believed many friends of the family. An expert, before whom the parasite was placed on trial, said that it was

highly improbable that the parasite sting a human being. It was extremely doubtful whether an insect that would be dangerous to the health of a human being would be liberated in the country. In all cases where new insects were liberated to combat pests they were observed and tested for some years before being actually liberated. There was little evidence in either of the cases mentioned to show that the victims had been attacked by a white butterfly parasite. There were many different sorts of insects in every garden and it would be hard to dis- . tinguished the parasite from any other parasite from any other insect.