When the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) [1] were being developed, priority was given to the problems of the poorest billion people in the world. In terms of health, this was translated into a set of targets of indicators in health that give visibility to maternal and child health, (under) nutrition, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), malaria, and tuberculosis, and a vague catch-all category, 'and other diseases'. While progress has been made in developing specific plans with budgets to address the named MDG targets, no further work has been carried out on defining what constitute priority other diseases, or which interventions should be emphasized to address them.

Infection with hydatid cysts of domestic animals slaughtered by private individuals and at the Government Central Slaughterhouse is recorded. Both fertile and non-fertile cysts were seen in the infected animals. The home slaughtered sheep seems to play an important role in the dissemination of the parasite and the life cycle of Echinococcus granulosus in the State of Kuwait is assumed to be sheep--dog--sheep.

Infection of dogs with E. granulosus is recorded for the first time in the State of Kuwait and observations on 204 dogs from different suburbs showed an infection rate of 23.039%. Cattle, sheep, goats and camels killed for public consumption in the period 6th April to 6th May, 1975, in a slaughter house were inspected and the rate of infection with E. granulosus cysts was recorded. The possible methods of transmission from animals and dogs to man is discussed.

Mouse peritoneal macrophage cells suspended in a TC 199 calf serum medium and cultured in Leighton tubes, were infected with Trypanosoma (Schizotrypanum) cruzi culture forms in order to study the development of this parasite in vitro. Three cycles of development were thought to occur: 1. Epimastigotes or trypomastigotes were taken up by macrophages and transformed into amastigotes. These multiplied by binary fission and ruptured the infected cell after 4‐5 days. Released amastigotes were taken up by uninfected macrophages and the cycle was repeated. 2. A small proportion of intracellular amastigotes developed into ‘ovoid forms’ which transformed progressively into promastigotes, epimastigotes and trypomastigotes. 3. Some amastigotes became ‘round forms’ from which sphaeromastigotes developed. These transformed directly into trypomastigotes without the formation of epimastigotes.