Two items I hope that somebody can steer me towards. The first is a history of the
cadeusis. 'We' know it as Dracunculus medinensis wrapped on a staff, but did Herodotus
mention it in his 'History', are their biblical references to the cadeusis or just the
'fiery serpent,' how deep into Africa was its use as a symbol of a 'healer' found, is it
still used in D. medinensis-indigenous regions, and why is Mercury associated with the
cadeusis. The second relates to techtonic plate movements and the theory of continental
drift. I understand this was first proposed by a parasitologist who studied parasites of
fresh-water fish in South America and Australia. Can anybody give me his name or a
reference of this work? I'm trying to gather interesting parasitological topics for use
in a potential PBS series for the ASP, along the lines of 'Cosmos,' but for parasites.
One part would cover parasites in history, so if anyone cares to offer their favorite
historical parasite topic, then I'd be much intrigued and thankful.
Cliff
