K. F. MEYER 609 



Schantyr.' Although the bacillus isolated in the course of this outbreak cannot be 

 properly classified, the epidemiological and anatomical findings leave little doubt that 

 the infection was caused by an organism of the paratyphoid group. The importance 

 of these bacteria to guinea pig infections was first established by Smith and Stewart^ 

 who reported a single case of pseudotuberculosis. From the spleen they were able to 

 isolate an organism which was closely related to the hog-cholera bacillus and to the 

 B. typhi murium of Loefller. Since then numerous publications have dealt with small 

 outbreaks or appalling epizootics (Wherry,-' Weaver,'' Eckersdorff,^ Kirch,^ Dieterlen,^ 

 Petrie and O'Brien,^ O'Brien,^ Bainbridge and O'Brien,'" Busson," Howell and Schultz,'^ 

 Trawinski,''' Steinmetz and Lerche,'4 Thomas, '^ Freund,"' Okamoto,'^ Kitller,'^ Klein,'' 

 Nelson and Smith, ^^ and others) ; however, a number of workers have recovered the 

 bacilli from guinea pigs which have been treated in various ways or from the organs 

 of apparently healthy animals (Smallmann,''' Klein, ^^ Morgan and Marshall,^^ Bo- 

 finger,^4 Ford,^^ the writer, and others). One cannot escape the impression that this 

 infection is world wide in its distribution and that its persistence in the past must be 

 largely attributed to the lack of knowledge concerning the spread of the disease and 

 the purchase of guinea pigs casually and indiscriminately at retail. This practice has 

 led in the experience of the writer to catastrophic consequences, particularly when a 



' Schantyr, I. I.: Deutsche Ztschr. f. Ticrmcd., 78, 21. 1891-92. 

 ^ Smith, T., and Stewart, J. R.: J . Boston Soc. Med. Sc., i, 12. 1897. 

 3 Wherry, W. B.: /. Infecl. Dis., 5, 519. 1908. 

 ••Weaver, G. H.: Bull. Johns Hopkins Hosp., 9, 270. 1898. 

 s Eckersdorff, O.: Cenlralbl.f. Bakleriol., Abt. I, Ref. Beilage, 38, 99. 1906. 

 ^ Kirch, E.: Arch.f. Hyg., 78, 327. 1913. 



'Dieterlen, T.: Arb. a. d. kaiserl. Gesundheitsamte, 30, 429. 1909. 

 8 Petrie, G. F., and O'Brien, R. A.: /. Hyg., 10, 287. 1910. 

 'O'Brien, R. A.: ibid., p. 231. 1910. 



"> Bainbridge, F. A., and O'Brien, R. A.: /. Path, b' Bad., 16, 145. 1911. 

 " Busson, B.: Centralbl. f. Bakleriol., Abt. I, 86, loi. 1921. 

 •^Howell, K. M., and Schultz, O. T.: /. Infect. Dis., 30, 516. 1922. 

 "^Trawinski, A.: Centralbl. f. Bakleriol., 87, 24. 1922. 



'''Steinmetz, M., and Lerche, P.: in Raebiger's Das Mecrschwcinchen, 100, 107. Hannover, 

 1923. 



'5 Thomas, B. G. H.: /. Infect Dis., 35, 407. 1924. 



'^ Freund, R.: Ztschr. f. Hyg. u. Infektionskrankh., 106, 627. 1926. 



•" Okamoto, T.: Klin. Wchnschr., 5, 795. 1926. 



'^Kittler, K.: "Abstract," Centralbl. f. Bakleriol., Ref. I, 81, 137. 1926. 



"Klein, K.: ibid., 86, 564. 1921. 



^"Nelson, J. B., and Smith, T.: J. Exper. Med., 45, 353. 1927. 



" Smallmann, A. B.: J. Roy. Army M. Corps, 21, 636. 1913. 



'^ Klein, E.: Cenlralbl.f. Bakteriol., Orig. I, 38, 392. 1905. 



•'3 Morgan, H. de R.: Brit. M. J., i, 1257. 1905. 



^''Bofinger: Deutsche med. Wchnschr., 37, 1063. 1911. 



's Ford, W. W.: Tr. A. Am. Physicians, 15, 389. 1900. 



