FAMILY V. BRUCELLACEAE 



417 



and in mice (Valine and Gaillard, Ann. 

 Inst. Past., 84, 1953,647). 



Habitat: Found in human cases of actino- 

 mycosis either alone or in mixture with the 

 Gram-positive bacilli of Wolff and Israel 

 (1891). 



4. Actinobacillus actinoides (Smith, 

 1918) Topley and Wilson, 1931. (Bacillus 

 actinoides Th. Smith, Jour. Exp. Med., ^8, 

 1918, 342; Topley and Wilson, Princip. of 

 Bact. and Immun., 1st ed., 1, 1931, 253 and 

 256.) 



ac.ti.no.i'des. Or. noun aciis, actinis a 

 ray; Gr. noun eidus shape, form; M.L. adj. 

 actinoides ray -like. 



In tissues the organisms appear as delicate 

 rods, 0.4 to 0.5 micron in width, arranged 

 in groups. In cultures, coccoid or bacillary 

 forms occur. In the condensation water of 

 coagulated blood serum, small, round, 

 mulberry-like flakes up to 1 mm in diameter 

 may be seen which consist of sheathed fila- 

 ments, each filament terminating in club- 

 like expansions. The sheaths as well as the 

 clubs are unstainable and enclose chains of 

 minute bacilli. Cells from cultures on agar 

 containing tissue, milk or blood appear in 

 the form of rods without capsules or clubs. 

 Non-motile. Gram-negative. 



Nutrient agar with or without blood: 

 Uncertain growth. Serial transfers on this 

 medium generally fail. 



Broth: No growth. 



Potato: No growth. 



Litmus milk: No growth. 



An accumulation of fatty substances in 

 the cultures has been reported. 



Optimum temperature, 37° C. 



Not pathogenic for laboratory animals. 



Distinctive characters: For isolation bits 

 of tissue are brought into the condensation 

 water of coagulated serum, the tubes being 

 sealed with wax. Serial transfers may be 

 successful on the same medium held under 

 increased CO2 tension (microaerophilic con- 

 ditions). Appearance of mulberry-like 

 granules. 



Relationship to other species: A resem- 

 blance between Actinobacillus actinoides 

 Topley and Wilson and Streptobacillus 

 moniliformis Levaditi et al. has been noted 

 by Dienes and Edsall (Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol., 



N. Y., 36, 1937, 740); however, in view of 

 its inability to infect laboratory animals 

 and because of its bacillary morphology in 

 calf lungs, Topley and Wilson (Princip. of 

 Bact. and Immun., 3rd ed., 1946, 393) feel 

 that A. actinoides should be treated sepa- 

 rately from S. moniliformis. 



Comments: Heilmann (Jour. Inf. Dis., 

 69, 1941, 32) discusses the question raised 

 by Klieneberger (Jour. Path, and Bact., 40, 

 1935, 93; also see ibid., 4^, 1936, 587), Daw- 

 son and Hobby (Proc. 3rd Intern. Cong, 

 of Microb., New York, 1939, 177) and others 

 on Asterococcus-like forms originating from 

 cultures of Streptobacillus moniliformis 

 Levaditi et al. 



Source: Isolated by Th. Smith from an 

 enzootic of chronic pneumonia in calves; 

 in five cases the only cultivable organism, 

 in four cases associated with other patho- 

 genic species and in three cases absent. Th. 

 Smith raises the question of some noncul- 

 tivable, unrecognized microorganism. No 

 other authors have observed similar cases. 

 Jones has isolated an organism resembling 

 Actinobacillus actinoides Topley and Wilson 

 from a pneumonia in old white rats (Jour. 

 Exp. Med., 38, 1922, 441). 



Habitat: Pathogenic, affecting calves 

 and probably other domestic animals. 



5. Actinobacillus mallei (Zopf, 1885) 

 Thompson, 1933. (Rotz-Bacillus, Loefl[ler and 

 Schiitz, in Struck, Deutsch. med. 

 Wochnschr., 8, 1882, 707; Bacillus mallei 

 Zopf, Die Spaltpilze, 3 Aufl., 1885, 89; 

 Pfeifferella mallei Buchanan, Jour. Bact., 

 3, 1918, 54 (type species of genus Pfeifferella 

 Buchanan, loc. cit.) ; Thompson, Jour. Bact., 

 26, 1933, 226; see ibid., 25, 1933, 44; Malleo- 

 rnyces mallei Pribram, Klassifikation der 

 Schizomyceten, Leipzig und Wien, 1933, 93 

 (type species of genus Malleomyces Pribram, 

 loc. cit.).) 



mal'le.i. L. noun malleus the disease 

 glanders; L. gen. noun mallei of glanders. 



Common name: Glanders bacillus. 



Description taken largely from Kelser 

 (Man. Vet. Bact., 4th ed., 1943, 325). 



Slender rods, 0.3 to 0.5 by 1.5 to 4.0 mi- 

 crons, with rounded ends, usually occurring 

 singly, in pairs and in groups; in culture 

 preparations, sometimes occur as filaments. 



