SIGNIFICANCE OF PHENOMENON 359 



not consider, ho^\e\er, tlie experiments as definite proot of pas- 

 sive transfer of tubercidin hypersensitiveness. 



Tiie specificity of tlie tidjercidin reaction is rather l:)road and 

 includes the human and l)o\ine types of the bacillus. As regards 

 the a\ian bacillus, there is an indication of a specific difference 

 for mammalian types, particidarly when qnantitatixe factors are 

 considered. Crawford (1927) inoculated gtiinea pigs with avian, 

 liovine, and human bacilli and tested them by sulocutaneotis and 

 intractitaneotis injection of avian and hirnian ttibercidins. He ol)- 

 served in all animals much stronger reactions to the homologous 

 tubercidin. Some animals ga\e no reactions to the heterolooous 

 tid)ercidin. Only rapidly disappearing reactions are obtained 

 with "tid^ercidins" from non-pathogenic acid-fast bacilli (Scheff, 



1925)- 



It is also of importance in connection with the problems to l^e 

 discussed later that in ttdDercidosis and other bacterial infections 

 there is an increased and abnormal sensitivity to foreign proteins 

 of the most varied type. These proteins may elicit local, focal, 

 and general reactions bringing al)out protracted shock and death 

 of the animal. 



In 1889, Gamaleia elicited death in tuberculous guinea pigs 

 by intramuscular injection of killed cidtures of Vibrio nietch- 

 nikovi. F. Roemer (1891) , P. H. Roemer (1909) and Buchner 

 (1891) foinid that proteins derived from B. pyocyaneus, B. fried- 

 Uinder and B. prodigiosus killed tubercidous guinea pigs in five 

 to ten horns. The injection was accompanied l)y hemorrhagic 

 lesions in tidjerculous foci. Borrel and later Bacanu (1935) dem- 

 onstrated a hypersensiti\'eness of tid)ercidous animals to mallein 

 injected intracerebrally. Boquet and Negre (1926) drew atten- 

 tion to the hypersensitiveness of tuberculous guinea pigs to prod- 

 ucts of B. pseudotuberculosis. Delamare (1918) reported pro- 

 noiuiced edematous and erythematous skin reactions to typhoid 

 vaccine in tubercidous patients. Seller and Tancre (1924-25) ob- 

 tained strong local reactions with B. coli protein. According to 

 Schmidt and Kraus, and dePotter (1926), tuberculous children 

 show general and focal reactions to parenteral injections of milk, 

 horse serum and broth. Besredka and Bronfenbrenner (1911) 

 sho^ved that the dose required to elicit anaphylactic shock is t^vo 

 to three times smaller for horse sensitized tuberculous guinea pigs 

 than for non-sensitized tuberculous guinea pigs. 



