74 BACTERIOLOGY FOR NURSES 



duration, a second attack often following the first at 

 a short interval. 



Some of the lower animals are susceptible to 

 infection from the pneumococcus, rabbits and mice 

 particularly, guinea pigs being less so, and dogs very 

 resistant. 



One of Pasteur's early experiments was the in- 

 jection of human saliva into rabbits, causing a rapid, 

 fatal general infect ion which he called sputum septicce- 

 mia, and which is now known to be due to the 

 pneumococcus. 



EPIDEMIC CEREBRO-SPINAL MENINGITIS 



An inflammation of the meninges, or membranes 

 covering the brain and spinal cord, is known as men- 

 ingitis and may be due to one of several different or- 

 ganisms, which may be primary infections or follow 

 some previous infection occurring in another part of 

 the body. 



Meningitis may be caused by streptococcus pyogenes, 

 by pneumococcus } or by bacillus tuberculosis, but these 

 cases are never epidemic, occurring only in scattered 

 instances. 



Epidemic cerebro-spinal meningitis is an acute infec- 

 tious disease due to an organism known as menin- 



