NOTES ON OTHER SPECIES OF LEPTOSPIRA 923 



Notes on other species of Leptospira 



Leptospira, Rachmat type. — Found in cases of human infection in the Dutch East 

 Indies. It is antigenically distinct from Lepto. icterohmmorrhagim ; some strains are 

 closely allied to Lepto. autumnalis, Akiyami A type (see Walch-Sorgdrager 1939). It 

 is virulent for guinea-pigs, in which it usually causes jaimdice. Its natural animal host 

 remains unknown. 



Leptospira batavise. — This organism, which is sometimes referred to as the Swart 

 van Tienen type, causes sporadic infections of human beings in Batavia, Borneo and the 

 Celebes. It is antigenically distinguishable from other types. It is moderately virulent 

 for the guinea-pig. Its natural host is Rattus norvegicus. 



Leptospira, Salinem type. — ^This type is also found in the Dutch East Indies, where 

 it causes sporadic cases of leptospiral infection in Sumatra. It is of moderate virulence 

 for guinea-pigs. It appears to be carried by the rat, Rattus brevicaudatus. 



Leptospira hebdomadis.— Described by Ido, Ito and Wani (1918, 1919). Gives rise 

 to the 7-day fever of Japan. Differs antigenically from Lepto. icterohcemorr?iagi(e, and 

 is less virulent for the guinea-pig. It is avirulent for rats and mice in the laboratory. 

 It is a natural parasite of the field-mouse, Microtus montebelloi. Is apparently identical 

 with the akii/ami B type found in the autumn fever of Japan. 



Leptospira akiyami and Leptospira autumnalis. — The identity of these organisms is 

 still under discussion. The first was isolated from cases of Autumn fever or Akiyami 

 in Japan, the second from a disease known as Hasamiyami. Two types of organism 

 from Akiyami have been described. The A type appears to belong to the Rachmat 

 group ; the B type is apparently identical with Lepto. hebdomndis (Stefanopoulo and 

 Hosoya 1928, Yang and Theiler 1930, Inoue 1930). The organism isolated from Hasami- 

 yami is very similar to the akiyami A type. According to Walch-Sorgdrager (1939), 

 akiyami A, autumnalis and Rachmat share a common antigen, but are not identical. 

 Both akiyami A and antumnalis are fairly virulent for guinea-pigs, often producing jaundice. 

 The natural host of akiyami ^ is a field-mouse, Microtus montebelloi, of Lepto. autumnalis 

 a field-mouse, Apodemus speciosus. 



Leptospira australis A and B. — These two types were isolated from cases of coastal 

 fever in Queensland (Lumley 1937). The A tjrpe is antigenically distinct from other 

 strains ; the B type appears to be related to the Salinem type of the Dutch East Indies 

 (Walch-Sorgdrager 1939). Both the Australian types are moderately pathogenic for 

 guinea-pigs, and both are carried by rats — R. culmorum. 



Leptospira pomona. — This organism was isolated from a patient affected with the 

 7-day fever of Queensland (Clayton and Derrick 1937). It is antigenically distinct from 

 the other strains. Its virulence both for human beings and guinea-pigs is low. It is 

 said by Johnson (1943) to cause endemic infection of pigs and cattle in the coastal district 

 of southern Queensland. 



Leptospira mitis. — This organism was also isolated from a febrile patient in Queensland 

 (Johnson 1942). It is antigenically distinct from other types, appears to be moderately 

 virulent for guinea-pigs and, like Lepto. pomona, causes an endemic infection of pigs and 

 cattle. It is not to be confused with the Leptospira mitis, which was described by IVIino 

 (1939) as being responsible for infection in rice-field workers in Italy, and which was shown 

 to be identical with Lepto. batavice. 



Leptospira grippotyphosa. — -This organism is the cause of a widespread disease in 

 eastern Europe known as swamp or mud fever. It was cultivated by Korthof (1932) 

 in a peptone rabbit serum salt mixtvu-e. It differs antigenically from other leptospirse, 

 and is not very pathogenic to guinea-pigs, but it may infect mice on passage (Walch- 

 Sorgdrager 1939). Its natural animal carrier is still unknown, though voles are suspected. 



