322 BACILLUS OF INFECTIOUS ABORTION 



and after two more days a sediment is formed. On serum agar the 

 growth is very delicate and scarcely visible to the naked eye. The 

 organism does not grow on gelatin or in milk, and very poorly in 

 nutrient bouillon without the addition of serum. Transplants cannot 

 be kept up long on any medium; they generally fail after the fif*h 

 generation. Ostertag injected cultures of this streptococcus into two 

 pregnant mares. The one which was injected intravenously aborted 

 after twenty days; the other one, inoculated into the vagina, went to 

 full term, but gave birth to a very weak foal. 



These streptococci are not pathogenic for either mice, guinea-pigs, 

 or rabbits ; they are very slightly resistant to disinfectants. The natural 

 infection is brought about by sexual intercourse. 



STREPTOCOCCUS OF VAGINITIS VERRUCOSA OF THE COW. 



An infectious vaginitis in cows is relatively prevalent in several 

 European countries. It has been particularly widespread in Eastern 

 Germany. The disease is known under the names of kolpitis granulosa, 

 infectiosa bovum, vaginitis verrucosa; "Ansteckender Scheiden- 

 katarrh der Kinder" or "Knotchenseuche" (German). The affection 

 is chronic in character and does not yield easily to treatment. When 

 healthy cows are infected experimentally from the vaginal discharges 

 of sick animals, swelling, redness, and tenderness of the vaginal mucosa 

 appear after two to three days. Afterward the lymph follicles of the 

 mucous membrane swell up and form granules. It is this change 

 which has led to the name granular vaginal catarrh of the cow. 

 Ostertag and Hecker discovered as the cause of the disease a short 

 streptococcus of generally six to nine individual cocci, which are 

 surrounded by a capsule. This streptococcus is found not only in 

 the discharge, but it penetrates deep into the epithelial layers and 

 into the papillae of the vaginal mucosa. The organism stains best 

 with Loeffler's alkaline methylene blue; it is Gram negative. The 

 streptococcus can be easily cultivated on glycerin agar, coagulated 

 blood serum, in gelatin, and in bouillon. The latter becomes diffusely 

 cloudy. The organism does not liquefy gelatin or coagulated blood 

 serum; it does not coagulate milk, nor form hydrogen sulphide, indol, 

 or gas in media containing glucose. 



Animals Susceptible. The ordinary laboratory animals are not sus- 

 ceptible to infection with this organism. Infected vaginal discharges 

 of cows or pure cultures of the streptococcus produce the typical 

 disease in healthy cows, if inoculated into their vaginae. Sheep, goats, 

 horses, and hogs cannot be infected in this manner. In addition 

 to the specific streptococcus the vaginal discharges of cows suffering 

 from the diseases generally also show staphylococci and colon bacilli. 

 Bulls spreading the disease from sick to healthy cows are generally 

 not made sick, exceptionally, however, they likewise develop a 

 catarrhal discharge from the penis. 



