140 



BACTERIOLYSINS AND HEMOLYSINS 



In cases of subsiding cholera, the Pf eiffer experiment is performed with 

 the serum of the patient in dilutions of i to 20, i to 100 and i to 500. 



Bacteriolysis with typhoid organisms is less typical than with cholera. 

 For diagnostic purposes the test is resorted to, only when the agglutination 

 reactions are doubtful. When bacteriolysis also gives uncertain results, an 

 animal is immunized with the typhoid suspected bacteria and its serum 

 tested for its power of agglutinating or destroying definitely known typhoid 

 bacteria and eventually the immunized animal may be injected with 

 virulent typhoid bacilli. 



Bacteriolysis is even more unsatisfactory with bacillus paratyphosus 

 B. and the related hog cholera group of organisms. 



While with typhoid bacteria the onset of bacteriolysis offers a favorable prognosis for 

 the animal, guinea-pigs inoculated with bacteria of the paratyphoid-hog-cholera group 

 die in spite of complete bacteriolysis. Death always takes place late (from three to 

 six days) , while the control animals succumb in about twenty-four hours. Bacteriolysis 

 has also been observed with the bacillus of dysentery and with the tubercle bacillus; 

 but thus far, these phenomena have gained no clinical significance. Bacteriolysis does 

 not occur in anthrax, pest and the various diseases due to cocci. 



