TYPHOID FEVER 133 



found that there had been a fatal case of enteric in a coloured 

 woman's house (Mrs P.) near Alexandra Battery in September, 

 1910, and that in December, 1910, Gunner O., who lived as 

 caretaker in the Battery, contracted the disease. The occurrence 

 of further cases amongst the coloured people in the vicinity of 

 the Cut Road since that date could not be ascertained." 



On May 3rd, 191 1, five or six flies (M. domesticd) were caught 

 at each of the following places and placed in a sterile test-tube 

 and numbered: No. i, kitchen of case 3. No. 2, kitchen of 

 case I. No. 3, kitchen of case 3. No. 4, Mrs P.'s washhouse, 

 which is close to a dry earth latrine used by her household. 



"The flies from each place were put into 5 c.c. of sterile salt solution in a test- 

 tube, the contents of the test-tube were well shaken for a minute, and bile salt broth 

 or ' Fawcus medium ' plates inoculated from the fluid. These tubes or plates were 

 labelled 'external washing' and numbered i, 2, 3 and 4 respectiv^ely. The flies 

 were now emulsified with a glass rod in sterile salt solution, and another series 

 of tubes or plates made and similarly numbered. The growth of the liquid medium 

 was plated out on the following day. The inoculated plates were examined after 

 incubation in the usual manner. The final result was that from Nos. i and ^ no 

 suspicious organisms were isolated. From No. 3 ' fly emulsion ' a non-Gram staining 

 motile bacillus was recovered which resembled B. typhosus in cultural reactions on 

 sugars, milk, gelatine and peptone solutions ; morphologically, it was very short, no 

 filaments could be seen and it was more motile than a typical B. typhosus, gave a 

 thicker and whiter growth on agar, and did not agglutinate with an anti-typhoid 

 serum. From No. 4 ' external washing ' a non-Gram staining motile bacillus was 

 recovered which gave the following reactions : 



Lactose litmus broth ... ... ... No acidity. 



Saccharose ... ... ... ... ,, ,, 



Glucose ... ... ... ... ... Acid, no gas. 



Mannite ... ... ... ... ... „ ,, 



Peptone solution ... ... ... ... No indol after six days. 



Gelatine ... ... ... ... ... No liquefaction in ten days. 



Neutral red agar No fluorescence. 



Litmus milk ... .• Acid, no clot in ten days. 



" Agglutination tests :— 



" As no immunized animals or specific typhoid serum was available the specific 

 serum was obtained from the patients. The sera of cases 6 and 8 were found to give 

 the most complete agglutination with the stock B. typhosus. 



"The bacillus under investigation was clumped completely in half-an-hour in i in 

 30 dilution of these sera as seen under the microscope, and completely sedimented in 

 twenty-four hours in dilutions up to i in 180 in capillary tubes. Similar control 

 results were obtained at the same time with the stock B. typhosus.'''' 



"These reactions proved that a true B. typhosus had been 

 recovered from the ' external washing' of flies caught at Mrs P.'s 



