380 EXPEKIMENT STATION RECORD. 



nate from cases of other diseases — that is, by normal agglutinins — the Malta 

 fever bacteria are agglutinated, although their behavior toward normal agglu- 

 tination depends largely upon the strain employed and the individual comiposi- 

 tion of the sera having variant agglutinability. (5) With rabbit and goat 

 immune sera and in the sera obtained from Malta fever subjects the agglu- 

 tinability of the various strains tested vpas very uniform. (6) The agglutinins 

 of normal serum were inactivated by heating serum for one-half hour at 55° C, 

 while the immune-agglutinins remained stable at this temperature. It is there- 

 fore recommended that for diagnostic purposes the serum obtained from an 

 affected subject be heated for one-half hour at 55° C. before conducting the 

 test. (7) With watery extracts of Malta fever bacteria a specific complement- 

 fixing substance can be demonstrated in the serum with the aid of the comple- 

 ment-fixation test. (8) The opsonic index for Malta fever bacteria in the serum 

 was in one of the cases increased. 



Contribution to the diagnosis of Malta fever, J. R. Mohler and A. EiCH- 

 HORN (Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc, 58 {1912), No. 15, pp. 1107-1109). — This in- 

 cludes a discussion of the history of Malta fever, its discovery in Texas (E. S. 

 R., 25, p. 7S2), the various methods of diagnosis, and the experiments of the 

 authors as regards the complement fixation test. 



Owing to the differences of opinions which exist in regard to the agglutina- 

 tion test used for diagnosing this condition, the authors sought to determine 

 the utility of the complement fixation test for this purpose. " From the results 

 of these investigations it appears that the complement fixation test can be 

 utilized for the diagnosis of Malta fever, and in consideration of the fact that 

 the agglutination test is not always reliable for such puriwses, the complement 

 fixation would be of great advantage as an adjunct in the diagnosis of this 

 malady." 



A description of the complement fixation and macroscopic agglutination tests 

 as utilized by the authors is given in detail. 



Rinderpest as observed in the Philippines, W. Sorrell (Amer. Vet. Rev., 

 41 (.1912), No. 3, pp. 290-299, figs. 3). — This is a description of the disease as 

 it is encountered in the Philippine Islands, and a discussion of the various 

 methods utilized for combating it. 



A cultural method of hyperimmunizing animals for the production of 

 anti-rinderpest serum, F. S. H. Baldrey (Jour. Trap. Vet. ScL, 6 (1911), No. 3, 

 pp. 251-256). — This work shows "that anti-rinderpest serum can be prepared 

 by the inoculation of virulent blood diluted with broth. It appears possible 

 that an active toxin is produced and excreted into the broth by the rinderpest 

 organisms contained in the virulent blood and by this means the results 

 recorded are obtained. This material or probable toxin is rapidly excreted and 

 so active that it appears to quickly inhibit any further growth of the I'inder- 

 pest organism, destroying its virulence and finally killing it. 



" The substance so obtained is very much more active than that obtained in 

 virulent blood, so much so that it can not be given subcutaneously with safety 

 on account of the extreme inflammatoi-y condition it sets up. To use it as an 

 hyperimmunizing agent, doses are better given intravenously and gradually in- 

 creased so that the [injections are] spread over a period of some 2 months or 

 more. The immune serum so obtained is powerful, but 15 to 20 per cent weaker 

 than that made by massive injections of virulent blood. The method is an 

 eminently practical one and shows a great financial saving." 



Tests of anti-rinderpest serum, A. R. Ward and F. W. Wood (Philippine Agr. 

 Rev. [English Ed.], 5 (1912), No. 2, pp. 7o-79).— " The experiments seem to 

 show that anti-rinderpest serum does not prevent infection with rinderpest. 

 On the contraiy, animals injected with serum and exposed to rinderpest soon 



