BACILLUS MALLEI 535 



Complement Fixation in Glanders. Diagnostic complement fixation 

 for the diagnosis of glanders has been developed by McNeil and Olm- 

 stead at the New York Department of Health. The antigen is made 

 by growing the glanders bacilli on a 1.6 per cent glycerin potato agar. 

 From this stock cultures transplanted are made upon a neutral meat- 

 free-veal peptone agar. Twenty-four-hour growths are washed off with 

 distilled water sterilized at 80 C. for four hours and filtered through 

 a Berkefeld. After filtration the antigen must again be sterilized at 

 80 for one hour. 



Immunity. Recovery from a glanders infection does not confer 

 immunity against a second inoculation. 1 Artificial active immuniza- 

 tion has been variously attempted by treatment with attenuated cul- 

 tures, with dead bacilli, and with mallein, but without convincing 

 results. 



The serum of subjects suffering from glanders contains specific 

 agglutinins. 2 These are of great importance diagnostically if the tests 

 are made with dilutions of, at least, 1 in 500, since normal horse serum 

 may agglutinate B. mallei in dilutions lower than this. 



1 Finger, Ziegler's Beitrage, vi, 1899. 2 Galtier, Jour, de m4d. vet., 1901. 



