so 



SriROCH.F.TORIS OF SUPAXESE KOWT.S 



I'l.ss,!,!,. 

 relationship 

 of the intra- 

 corpiiscular 

 bodies lo 

 spirochaetcs 



The great 

 value of the 

 dark-fieM 

 inethrxl 



24. Gozony,' in a hif^hly interesting paper, sliows that spirochaftal infection can take 

 jilace through the unbroken mucous membranes, and believes that the leucocytes 

 play a great part in the production of natural imnnmity, not, however, by ))hagocytic 

 action, but by the production of substances injurious to the parasites. 

 'l-'t. Xattan-Larrier- deals with hereditary transmission and congenital immunity in 

 spirillosis in several papers wortliy of study. 



Although the previous work in the laboratories had. as it were, cleared the ground 

 to a considerable extent, certain points still required elucidation, and during the winter 

 of 1908-9, and the spring following, the work was continued as opportunity offered and 

 was also resumed in the succeeding winter with the object of ascertaining :- 



1. If further proof could be obtained as to the relationship of the intra-eorpuscular 

 bodies and the spirochsetes. 



This necessitated a further study of their morpholog^i-, both by the methods previously 

 employed and by such other methods as suggested themselves, notably the employment 

 of dark-field illumination, special staining processes and therapeutic measures, and by a 

 consideration of any analogies which it might be possible to trace in similar or allied 

 ha?matozoa. 



2. The course and nature ot the disease in cliieks. It was found that these were 

 much more convenient for the experimental work than adult liirds, but it was soon 

 apparent that conditions in chicks were not analogous to those in fowls. This is interesting 

 as the fact was also noted at a later period by Brumpt and Blaizot in the papers 

 already cited. 



3. The fate of spirochtetes ingested by Arijan pergicns and tiie true role of this tick 

 as a carrier. 



4. If Oniifhodoros siin'fjiiiii, the human tick of the Sudan, a species closely allied 

 to ". inotthata, served also as a vector. Experiments in this direction led me independently 

 to the discovery of the curious bacterial or mycelial-like forms in the tissues of this tick, 

 which Leishman also found, as a matter of fact, in ticks which reached him through 

 Dr. Graham-Smith but which I sent to the latter. They were obtained at a small oasis 

 in the desert near Khartoum. Some time has been spent in trying to determine the 

 nature of these forms. 



5. If the fowl lice, so commonly found on the birds, could transmit the disease and, 

 if so, whether or not they were true hosts or merely mechanical vectors. 



6. If pigeons and other birds are susceptible to the Khartoum virus. 



7. If any other blood changes, besides those already mentioned, required notice. 



8. If the pjhrlich-Hata preparation, "606," was effective as a therapeutic agent 

 in this form of spirochaetosis. 



(1) Taking these subjects in the order stated, one found the dark-field method of great 

 service. It confirmed certain observations previously recorded, i.e. the entry of spirochsetes 

 into red cells and the longitudinal division of the parasites, and enabled these two 

 phenomena to be witnessed with comparative ease and frequency, and latterly it has 

 indicated what is, in all probability, the method by which the bodies are formed. Although 

 spirochsetes could be seen entering the red cells and also leaving them, and specimens 

 removed and stained at the proper time showed spirochaetes actually in the cytoplasm 

 of the erythroblasts, no formation of bodies directly from spirochsetes could be observed. 



'Gozony, L. (Felminrv 1-3, 1911). "Die Infektionswcge nnd natiirliclic Imiiiunitat l»ei Spironhatosen." 

 frill./. Bali, ftriii., Vol. LVII.. [art G. 



' Nattnn-Ijirrier, I.. (Man-h 10, 1911). "Spirillose horfditain- et iniiminiti- con^'-nitale, </ .«■(/." I'mnpl. 

 Henit. Sue. Binl. 



