588 ABSTRACTS 



An Epidemic of Dysentery at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, with Three Cases of 

 the Hiss-Russell or " Y" Bacillus Infection. G. M. Van Poole. 

 (The Military Surgeon, 1916, 38, 525-530.) 



An Epidemic of Bacillary Dysentery due to the Hiss-Russell Bacillus. 

 M. A. Delaney. (Ibid., 531-533.) 



Bacillary Dysentery, Recent Epidemic at Fort Shafter, H. T.,from the 

 Laboratory Aspect. F. H. Foucar. (Ibid., 534-538.) 

 This epidemic of 34 cases began on October 16. 1915, and the last 

 case was received November 21, 1915. During this time 3 officers, 2 

 children, 27 enlisted men and 1 civilian emploj^'ee were stricken. Two 

 deaths resulted, thus giving a mortality of 6 per cent. The first of 

 these papers discusses the epidemic from the sanitary standpoint, the 

 second from the clinical standpoint and the third from the laboratory 

 standpoint, thus giving a comprehensive study of a sharp outbreak of 

 bacillary dysentery which was soon brought under control. Perhaps 

 the most interesting point brought out is found in Captain Foucar's 

 paper which states that a vaccine was prepared from the " Y" Bacillus 

 isolated from these cases. The vaccine was made in accordance with 

 the technique used in preparing the army typhoid vaccine, but was 

 used in smaller doses. Three doses at ten day intervals were given, 

 mostly to children, a total of 168 separate doses being given. Only one 

 severe reaction occurred, and it is stated that the cases among the chil- 

 dren ceased although adult cases continued for some time. — E. B. V. 



•Study of a Strain of B. Welchii Isolated in France Together with Some 



Notes on Gastric Ulcers. Mary W. Stewart and Randolph West. 



(Journal of Immunology, 1916, 1, 189.) 



■Stewart and West studied an organism isolated from gas gangrene 

 which was a strict anaerobe, was capsulated, non-motile, and formed 

 spores only in sugar-free broth containing coagulated egg white. It 

 produced stormy fermentation of milk and in other respects conformed 

 with the B. Welchii type of the butyric acid forming group of bacteria. 

 Weinberg and Sacqu(?pee have reported the formation of a solul)le toxin 

 by a gas gangrene organism which was motile and which sporulated on 

 sugar media but Stewart and West were unable to detect a soluble 

 toxin in the cultures of their bacillus. The killed suspensions of washed 

 bacteria were harmless for guinea pigs. The filtrate of sugar broth cul- 

 tures which was highly acid was toxic to guinea pigs but this toxicity 

 could be completely removed by neutralization of the filtrate. The 

 most noticeable lesions produced by these filtrates were acute gastric 

 ulcers and such ulcers could be almost as regularly produced by the 

 injection of acetic acid solutions of similar titre. The necrotic tissue 

 at the site of an intramuscular inoculation with the bacilli was also 

 found to be highly acid. Blood cultures from infected pigs were rarely 

 positive. 



The conclusion is drawn that the general toxic effects in gas bacillus 



