CHAPTER XXVI 



SWINE ERYSIPELAS GROUP 



Two organisms have been described as belonging to this 

 group the Bacillus rhusiopathice and B. murisepticus. As will 

 be noted later, there is good reason to believe that these organ- 

 isms are identical. The group may be characterized as made 

 up of very minute, slender, non-motile, non-spore-producing, 

 gram-positive rods. 



Bacillus rhusiopathiae 



Synonyms. Bacillus rhusiopathioe suis; Bacillus erysipelatis 

 suis. 



Disease Produced. Swine erysipelas, red fever of swine, 

 rouget, Rotlauf. 



Loffler in 1885 first described the organism present in swine 

 erysipelas. The disease had previously been differentiated from 

 anthrax by Pasteur and Thuiller. 



Distribution. The disease has been reported from most of the 

 European countries, and an organism resembling the Bacillus 

 rhusiopathice has several times been reported from the United 

 States, although there has been no satisfactory demonstration 

 of the presence of the disease in this country. In Europe the 

 disease is of considerable economic importance. 



Morphology and Staining. Bacillus rhusiopathice is a slender 

 rod, variously given as 0.2 to 0.4 (J- by 1 to 2 a, usually straight, 

 but sometimes somewhat curved, single or in chains. It is non- 

 motile, does not produce spores or capsules. It stains readily 

 with the anilin dyes and is gram-positive. 



Isolation and Culture. The organism may be secured in pure 

 culture by plating the blood or pulp from some of the internal 

 organs, the spleen in particular. The colonies in the gelatin 

 plate appear on the second or third day, and are quite character- 



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