SCT Re eae ee ee ere 
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and confirmed their results as to the action of the bacilli on mannite, As 
regards the bacteriolytic action of serum upon the two types, he showed that 
the bacteriolysis in vitro takes place when correspondence exists between the type 
of bacilli and of immune serum, irrespective of their strain, and it fails to occur 
when the types are not in conformity. This view was also supported by Martha 
Wollstein (18), who, in the examination of the stools of one hundred and fourteen 
infants suffering from infantile diarrhoea found dysentery bacilli in thirty-nine 
“ases. Thirty-eight of these fermented mannite and maltose and produced indol, 
while one, obtained from the most severe case, did not ferment mannite, thus 
agreeing with the “Shiga” type. 
Park, Collins, and Goodwin (19) in May, 1904, published a paper dealing with 
the group of dysentery bacilli and the varieties or organisms which should be 
included in it. The results of their agglutination and absorption tests indicate 
that the bacilli isolated by themselves and others may be separated into at 
least three types or varieties. These display differences in their fermentative 
characters, and the grouping thus arrived at substantiates the classification based 
on the fermentation test which was made by Hiss. The first type is represented 
by the original “Shiga” strain. None of the bacilli belonging to this class 
produce indol (with the exception of a trace) and they do not ferment mannite, 
maltose, or saccharose. The organisms composing the second type ferment mannite 
with the production of acid, but do not split maltose or saccharose in peptone 
solution or produce indol. The bacilli of the third type approach nearest to those 
of the colon group, since they not only produce indol and actively ferment 
mannite but also act energetically upon pure maltose and feebly upon saccharose. 
Animals injected with each of these types develop specific immune bodies and 
agglutinins, all the bacilli agreeing in cultural characteristics. In consideration 
* of all the facts, they add that it seems incorrect to designate the mannite fermen- 
ting groups as pseudo-dysentery bacilli. 
Hiss (20) by comparing the fermentative action of the different strains on the 
five carbohydrates (dextrose, maltose, saccharose, dextrin, and lactose) and 
alcohol mannite, succeeded in giving what seemed a reliable classification and this 
division also accorded with the observed agglutinative phenomena. His conelu- 
sions are as follows: 
(1) The bacilli of dysentery fall into four major groups which have fermen- 
tative and agglutinative characters distinguishing them from one another. 
However, sub-groups, due to differences in agevlutinative characters alone, may 
occur among cultures having the same fermentative functions; so far as has 
been determined. 
(2) The four major groups are as follows: The first, represented by the 
Shiga-Kruse bacillus, ferments dextrose readily and at times maltose, after 
many days; the second one, represented by Hiss’s “Y” bacillus, ferments dextrose 
and aleohol-mannite (maltose and saccharose may be fermented but not with 
ease) ; the third, represented by Strong’s Philippine culture, ferments dextrose 
and mannite with ease, saccharose is fermented with comparative readiness (and 
maltose at times slowly) ; the fourth, represented by Flexner’s Manila culture, 
ferments dextrose, mannite, maltose, saccharose, and dextrin with ease. 
(3) Agglutination and absorption tests show that the agglutinative characters 
of these different groups are specific. 
The American observers are generally inclined to consider the so-called 
acid and non-acid types of dysentery bacilli to be of equal etiological 
importance and some of them regard the differences between the two 
