A new black-fly species, Simulium (Morops) lilianae sp. nov., is described from a female that was reared from a pupa collected in Banaue, Luzon Is., Philippines. In the female, this new species is distinguished from all the eight known Morops species reported from the Philippines by the mandible with serrations on both sides. This new species, S. (M.) lilianae, is somewhat similar in the female to S. (M.) disneyi reported from Sulawesi by having the similar mandible, but easily separated from the latter by the size of the sensory vesicle and the coloration of the mid and hind tibiae. In the pupal stage, S. (M.) lilianae is distinctive within this subgenus by having the antler-like gills.

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To survey the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and other parasites in cats using the sucrose flotation method, fecal samples were collected from stray cats in Chiba Prefecture (outside Chiba City) and Chiba City from December 1998 to December 1999. T gondii oocysts were detected in only one of 326 cats examined (0.3%), while 13.4% of the cat sera (13/97) were serologically positive for anti-T gondii antibodies by the latex agglutination test. However, the antibody titers in these sera were relatively low. The prevalence of protozoa infections in cats was higher in Chiba City area than outside Chiba City. The high prevalence of S. erinaceieuropaei infection in cats was found in the Chiba Prefectural area.

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This series of papers will present an overview on dengue fever and dengue viruses. i.e., history, symptomatology, pathology, virus isolation, basic properties of viruses, pathogenesis, prevention, epidemiology, etc.
The present issue consists of two chapters. The first chapter contains such sections as : historical aspects, relatedness to other arboviruses, nomenclature and classification.
The second chapter describes big dengue epidemics which occurred in Japan during 1942-1945. Port cities such as Nagasaki and Kobe were heavily infected. The first onset was among seamen of cargo boats which were connecting those port cities and Southern areas such as Philippine Islands, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, etc. About two hundred thousand typical cases were reported and the whole number of patients including abortive and unrecorded ones were probably much greater. This was the first and only outbreak of dengue fever in Japanese main islands and also one of the grearest dengue epidemics ever recorded in the temperate regions.
Chapters describing the other items will follow in later issues of this Journal.

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