K. F. MEYER 623 



and Weil (1907),' Volk,^ Schwer,^ Selter,4 Sudmersen,^ Koppanyi/ Raebiger,^ 

 Eberth and Mandry,* Sustmann,' Davis/" Saelhof," and Baudet'^ described under 

 different names spontaneous fatal diseases characterized by a serofibrinous pleurisy 

 frequently associated by pericarditis and pneumonia. Clinically the animals show in 

 the acute stage a mucopurulent nasal discharge, dyspnea, loss of appetite, weakness, 

 and emaciation; in the chronic stage, a purulent discharge, coughing, sneezing, and 

 emaciation. A gram negative non-motile coccobacillus, minutely described by Smith'^ 

 in 1886 and later designated by Lignieres'-i as Pasteurella, was considered by many 

 authors as the bacterial incitant of the epidemic respiratory disease commonly re- 

 ported as "rabbit septicemia." Recently Ferry and Hoskins'^ have tried to differ- 

 entiate etiologically the chronic rhinitis or commonly called "snuffles" from the 

 epidemic pleuropneumonia and septicemia. According to their studies, the ordinary 

 form of snuffles is caused by Bad. hronchisepticum while the fatal cases of septicemic 

 character are due to Pasteurella or Bacterium lepisepticimi. Although McCartney 

 and Olitsky"' were unable to confirm this differentiation, they expressed the view that 

 typical snuffles is merely an acute exacerbation of a chronic paranasal sinusitis (100 

 per cent in snuffles, 9 per cent in healthy rabbits [McCartney and Olitsky]; 68 per 

 cent and 14 per cent [Tanaka])'' due to Bad. lepisepticum and Bad. hronchisepticum, 

 and that these organisms are not the sole inciting cause. Both workers also empha- 

 size the difficulties which are encountered in the attempts to reproduce the clinical 

 picture of snuffles on laboratory-stock rabbits on account of the pre-existing infection. 

 The resemblance of the rabbit disease to human influenza has prompted Tanaka'^ in 

 Chicago to search for a filterable virus with negative results. However, he isolated 

 in the majority of cases from the nasal secretions, blood, lung exudates of rabbits with 

 snuffles Bad. lepisepticum, and in fewer cases Bad. bronchisepticum. Furthermore, the 

 etiological relationship of the isolated organisms was clearly indicated by the positive 

 agglutination reactions which were secured with the sera of the diseased rabbits, and 

 finally he was able to produce experimentally snuffles identical with natural snuffles 

 by intranasal inoculations of rabbits with strains of either Bad. lepisepticum or Bad. 

 bronchisepticum. The observations of Tanaka are in harmony with those of Bull and 



' Roger, H., and Weil, E.: Arch. med. ex per. el d'anat. path., 13, 545. 1901. 



^ Volk, R.: Cenlralbl.f. Bakleriol., Orig. I, 31, 177. 1902. 



^Schwer: ibid., 33, 41. 1903. '' Seller, H.: ibid., 41, 432. 1906. 



5 Siidmersen, H. J.: ibid., 38, 343, 591, 713. 1905. 



' Koppanyi, E.: Ztschr.f. Tiermed., 11,429. 1907. 



' Raebiger, M.: Ber. d. bakt. Inst. Halle. 1907-10. 



* Eberth, J. C, and Mandry, A.: Fortschr. d. Med., 8, 547. 1890. 



' Sustmann, H.: op. cit., 23, 41. 1915. 



'° Davis, J. D.: J . Infect. Dis., 21, 314. 1917. " Saelhof, C. C: ibid., 28, 374. 1921. 



" Baudet, E. A. R. P.: Tijdsckr. v. diergeneesk., 50, 769. 1923. 

 '3 Smith, T.: /. Comp. Med. or Surg., 8, 24. 1887. 



'4 Lignieres, J.: Ann. de I'lnst. Pasteur, 15, 734. 1901; Bull, de Vlnst. Pasteur, 5, 249. 1907. 

 '5 Ferry, N. S., and Hoskins, H. P.: /. Lab. b' Clin. Med., s, 311. 1919-20. 

 '^McCartney, J. E., and Olitsky, P. K.: /. Exper. Med., 38, 591. 1923. 

 '7 Tanaka, A.: /. Infect. Dis., 38, 389, 409. 1926. 



