RELATION OF THE COMMON MILK STREPTOCOCCI TO 

 STREPTC )COCCUS PYOGENES. 



BY CLARENCE EMERSON. 



Aside from the importance of this class of streptococci in 

 milk, because of the chemical changes produced therein, there 

 is a possibility that certain varieties may be of considerable 

 interest because of their effect on the health of the consumer. 

 The significance of streptococci in milk has been a matter of 

 discussion for some time. It has long been known that these 

 organisms are very often present in the milk from cows suffer- 

 ing from mastitis, and that, when freshly isolated from the 

 diseased udders, they are pathogenic to lower animals. Formerly 

 it was supposed that only milk from diseased udders contained 

 streptococci, but more recent investigations have disclosed the 

 fact that they are present in a large number of samples of 

 normal milk from healthy cows. Indeed, the milk is rare which 

 contains no organisms of this class. The recognition of their 

 significance becomes especially desirable when we. note the close 

 cultural similarity of the strains isolated from milk to the 

 common pathogenic varieties. Many investigators hold to the 

 view that disease in man may result from the use of milk from 

 cows suffering from mastitis. Some of these are mentioned in 

 Bulletin No. 41 of the Hygienic Laboratory as follows: 



"Holst ? b Stokes and Wegefarth, c Beck, d Lamer is and Von 

 Harrevelt, e Kenwood/ Savage, 8 and many others saw epidemics 

 of sore throat with swelling of the cervical glands, colic, diarrhea, 

 and fever lasting several days, which were ascribed to the use 

 of milk from cows with garget. Such milk when examined was 

 found to contain pus and streptococci in great abundance. Hoist 

 in an experiment upon himself drank 200 cubic centimeters of 

 a culture of a streptococcus isolated from such a milk during 

 an outbreak, and became ill with colic and diarrhea. 



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