a 



CHAPTER 12 v'^^^^il*^ 



UTILIZATION OF ANTAGONISTIC MICROORGAN- 



ISMS AND ANTIBIOTIC SUBSTANCES 

 FOR DISEASE CONTROL 



Whether gra?mcidm or any other product of mtcrob'ic origin will 

 eventually be found to fulfill certain furfoses better than either 

 sulfhonamides or any other class of antiseftic remains to be seen. 

 That several classes of reagent should be competing for suprem- 

 acy in different aspects of a task which not long ago was consid- 

 ered impossible of any real fulfilment is a truly remarkable posi- 

 tion (343a)- 



Microorganisms and products of their metabolism have been utilized 

 for the control of disease in man, animals, and plants with varying de- 

 grees of success. As early as 1 877, Pasteur (675) noted that the produc- 

 tion of anthrax in susceptible animals can be repressed by the simultane- 

 ous inoculation with B. anthrads and various other bacteria. This led 

 him to make the following significant suggestion: ". . . on peut intro- 

 duire a profusion dans un animal la bacteridie charbonneuse sans que 

 celui-ci contracte le charbon : il suffit qu'au liquide qui tient en suspension 

 la bacteridie on ait associe en meme temps des bacteries communes." 



Pasteur may thus be looked upon as the first to advance the subject 

 of bacteriotherapy. Emmerich (233) reported that anthrax can be con- 

 trolled by the use of streptococci such as the erysipelas organism j these 

 bacteria were, therefore, looked upon as agents useful in bringing about 

 immunity against all bacterial infections. Pawlowsky (676) obtained 

 immunity against anthrax by inoculation with Friedlander's bacillus. 

 Bouchard (81) was successful in the control of anthrax by means of 

 Ps. aeruginosa. This organism, however, did not impart any immunity 

 to the animals, but by the use of a sterilized ten-day-old culture of the 

 antagonist, healing action was obtained against anthrax infection, or at 

 least a delay in the course of its development. Rabbits infected with an- 

 thrax were also cured by means of a pyocyanase preparation (872)} 

 many other cases of successful treatment of anthrax with pyocyanase 



