494 PFEIFFERELLA, AND CERTAIN ALLIED ORGANISMS 



with the scarified skin may give rise to a fatal infection. Rabbits are as susceptible 

 as guinea-pigs, but rats are more resistant. The subcutaneous inoculation of 0-1 ml. 

 of a 24-hour broth culture into a rabbit usually causes death in 3 weeks. Post 

 mortem, there is local necrosis, and necrotic or purulent lesions are found in the 

 lungs, spleen, liver, joints, bones, or testicles ; purulent arthritis is common in the 

 second week. Cats, monkeys, and goats can all be infected experimentally. The 

 disease in the monkey is usually chronic, lasting 2 to 4 months, and is accompanied 

 by severe emaciation. Horses are resistant (see Stanton and Fletcher 1932, de 

 Moor et al. 1932, NichoUs 1934). According to NichoUs (1934), the rough type is 

 the normal virulent form, while the smooth type is relatively a virulent if obtained 

 completely free from rough organisms. 



Perez's Bacillus, or Cocco-bacillus foetidus ozaense. 



In 1899 Perez described, under the name of Cocco-bacillus fcelidus ozcence 

 a small organism that he had isolated from the nose of patients suffering from 

 ozsena. His work was confirmed by numerous observers (Hofer 1913a, b. Ward 

 1916, 1917, Busson 1923, Olinescu and Atineu 1925a, b), but there is insufficient 

 evidence to show that this organism is causally related to ozsena. Perez (1901, 

 1913) found his bacillus also in the saliva and nasal mucus of apparently healthy 

 dogs. 



To avoid confusion, it may be stated here that Perez's bacillus is different 

 from the ozeena bacillus described by Loewenberg (1894) and by Abel (1896), 

 which undoubtedly belongs to the Friedlander group (see Chapter 28). 



The classification of Perez's bacillus is very doubtful ; it is impossible to say 

 to what group this organism will ultimately be assigned. Our reasons for includ- 

 ing it in this chapter are to draw attention to certain points of resemblance that 

 it shows to Pf. whitmori and H. bronchisepticus. 



Morphologically, Perez's bacillus is a small. Gram-negative cocco-bacillus, which was 

 originally described as being non-motUe, but which is said by Ferry and Noble (1918) to 

 be sluggishly motile, and bj' Ward (1917) occasionally to acquire motiUty in culture. In 

 fluid media, and in old cultures on solid media, long, irregular, deeply staining, filamentous 

 forms may appear. In broth, and on agar if the tubes are sealed, cultures have a heavy, 

 sweet, unpleasant, or even nauseating odour, which is said by Ward to be due to volatile 

 sulphiu- compounds. According to our own observations, agar cultures tend to wither 

 after a few days, suggesting the occurrence of autolysis. In gelatin stab cultures of 

 Perez's baciUus, fine lateral filaments often appear in 2 or 3 weeks, radiating from 

 the central stab. On potato a creamy-white growth is formed. Biochemically, the 

 organism produces acid and gas in glucose only ; in litmus milk there may be a shght 

 acidity; indole is produced. Antigenically, all strains are said by Ward (1917) to be 

 homogeneous; but according to Ohnescu and Atineu (1925a), this is doubtful. An anti- 

 serum to H. bronchisepticus is without action on Perez's baciUus, and vice versa (Ferry 

 and Noble 1918). Both Perez's bacillus and H. bronchisepticus are parasites of the respi- 

 ratory tract, and both seem to be secondary rather than primary agents in the causation 

 of disease. It is probable that in the past they have been confused with each other. 

 The following table (Table 33), modified from Ferry and Noble, enumerates the main 

 differences between them. 



An organism similar to Perez's baciUus has been isolated by Shiga (1922) from the 

 nose of ozaena patients. The chief differences between the two are that Shiga's organism 

 often ferments maltose and sucrose, as well as glucose ; it sometimes peptonizes milk ; 

 it hquefies gelatin ; and it is not agglutinated by a serum prepared against Perez's bacillus. 

 Blanc and Pangalos (1925) have isolated from the nose of ozsena patients a short, actively 



