436 THE BACTERIOPHAGE AND ITS BEHAVIOR 



Dumas^^^ was the first to find a bacteriophage, virulent for either 

 B. coli or the Shiga organism, in the drinking water of Paris. He also 

 found it in garden soil, which was not peculiar since such soil is heavily 

 charged with manure. 



Beckerich and Hauduroy^^ isolated races of the bacteriophage from 

 the water of the river 111, as well as from that of the Rhine, which, 

 after filtration through sand, serves as drinking water for Strasbourg. 



I have isolated a bacteriophage virulent for B. coli from a specimen 

 of sea water collected in the estuary of Mekong; a race virulent for 

 B. dysenteriae from the water off Alexandria; and a similar race from a 

 specimen of water collected outside of Marseilles. On the contrary, I 

 failed to find it in a specimen of water collected from the Indian Ocean, 

 at approximately 60° longitude, and 10° north latitude. 



Various authors, Arloing, Sempe and Chavanne, among others, 

 report having found virulent races in the water of different rivers and 

 wells. These races have shown virulences for such organisms as B. 

 typhosus, B. coli, B. dysenteriae, and the paratyphoids. 



RESUME 



Within the intestinal tract of every man, and of every animal, there 

 is a race of the bacteriophage living in symbiosis with B. coli and the 

 other bacteria of the normal flora (d'Herelle^^"). 



The bacteriophage is not present in the intestinal tract of the fetus, 

 nor is it found in the new-born infant (Vedrenne^^") . In the infant it 

 appears, as a rule, some time between the 4th and 7th days after birth 

 (d'Herelle). 



In the normal man the intestinal bacteriophage usually shows a viru- 

 lence only for the strain of B. coli with which it is maintaining a sym- 

 biotic relationship. But to this there are many exceptions, cases where 

 the virulence extends to different bacterial species (d'Herelle^^"). 



In the normal animal the intestinal bacteriophage can be demon- 

 strated somewhat more readily than in man. This is due to the fact 

 that in the animal the virulences of the race present almost always 

 extend to the dysentery and paratyphoid bacilli (d'Herelle). 



As a rule, the intestinal tract of man, and of animals, contains but a 

 single race of the bacteriophage (d'Herelle) . 



Everything which, under natural conditions, has once been exposed 

 to pollution by excreta, may contain bacteriophage protobes. It is 

 always present in the water of some rivers (Dumas^^^) ; in cultivated soils 

 (Dumas^^^), and often in sea water near the coast (d'Herelle^^^). 



