CHAPTER XXIX 



HEMORRHAGIC SEPTICEMIA GROUP 



HUEPPE, in 1886, united a number of organisms causing some- 

 what similar diseases in different species of animals under the name 

 of Bacillus septicemice hcemorrhagicce. He included chicken 

 cholera, septicemia of rabbits, swine plague, hemorrhagic septi- 

 cemia of cattle and of various wild animals, and a number of other 

 diseases. Trevisan grouped these organisms in a new genus, which 

 he named Pasteurella. The diseases produced by such organisms 

 are, therefore, sometimes termed pasteurelloses (sing., pasteureU- 

 osis). Lignieres, in 1901, classified the pasteurelloses, or hemor- 

 rhagic septicemias, and his classification has been generally adopted 

 by the French bacteriologists, and is the outline followed by 

 Nocard and Leclainche in their " Maladies microbienne des 

 Animaux." The name Bacillus pleurisepticus is sometimes used 

 to designate the organisms of this group as a whole. 



There is probably no group of organisms which is in greater 

 need of thorough study and revision than this. Non-pathogenic 

 organisms having the morphologic and cultural characters of this 

 group have been isolated from many sources. At least one disease, 

 dog distemper, originally described as caused by a Pasteurella, 

 has been shown to be due to an ultramicroscopic virus. It is 

 possible that in some other diseases placed in this group the organ- 

 ism described as the etiologic factor is but a secondary invader. 

 The discovery that hog-cholera is not caused by B. cholera suis 

 makes it appear highly probable that still other of these diseases 

 may be found to be due to a filterable virus. Furthermore, there 

 has not been sufficient care used in the differentiation of the various 

 members of the group. It is not to be concluded that our knowl- 

 edge of none of these diseases rests upon a secure foundation; 

 there is little doubt, for example, that the Bacillus pestis is the 

 cause of bubonic plague. 



293 



