A STUDY OF SPONTANEOUS AGGLUTINATION IN 

 THE COLON-TYPHOID GROUP OF BACILLI 



0. ISHII 



From the Department of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene, Harvard Medical School, 



Boston 



Received for publication April 19, 1921 



It is well recognized that spontaneous agglutination may 

 occur in broth cultures of Bad. typhosum and Bad. paratyphosum 

 A and B. Because of this phenomenon, the results of agglu- 

 tination tests with specific sera are not reliable under such con- 

 ditions, since it is practically impossible to distingush between 

 spontaneous and specific agglutination. 



Block in 1897 found that cultures which were transplanted 

 too frequently, may agglutinate spontaneously. He further 

 observed that when cultures were grown in alkaline broth the 

 same phenomenon occurred. Delepine and Fison (1897) also 

 noted spontaneous agglutination in cultures of Bad. typhosum. 

 Kruse, Rittershaus, Kemp and Metz described spontaneous 

 agglutination of typhoid and dysentery bacilli in plain broth 

 cultures and in very concentrated peptone broth cultures. 

 Nicolle (1898) reported that changes in the bacterial protein 

 occurred in old cultures, and that the organisms became more 

 sensitive and readily agglutinated spontaneously in such cul- 

 tures. Smith and Reagh (1903) reported that the Bad. ider- 

 oides developed granular colonies on gelatin cultures; i.e. were 

 agglutinated spontaneously. Steinhardt (1904) found that in 

 agar cultures, showing spontaneous agglutination, the colonies 

 were irregular in shape and less translucent than the colonies 

 of the type which did not agglutinate spontaneously. Teague 

 and McWilliams (1917) reported that organisms isolated from 

 the blood of a rabbit which had been injected with Bad. typhosum, 



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