258 . BACTERIOLOGY FOR NURSES 



the first appearance of a cholera-like disease other tests are applied. 

 Usually peptone water is inoculated with a small amount of feces, 

 and at the end of six to twelve hours a hanging drop is made from 

 the surface growth. If the organisms are sufficiently numerous 

 agglutination tests are made with the serum of an immunized 

 animal. Control tests are made at the same time with a known 

 cholera strain. A speedy method for the detection of suspected 

 cases when a number of examinations must be made is the inocu- 

 lation with feces of saccharose peptone water to which an indi- 

 cator has been added. As the cholera vibrio has the ability 

 to ferment saccharose, decolorization occurs in from five to eight 

 hours. The tubes not decolorized may be discarded, and no further 

 examination is necessary since the cholera spirillum is not present. 

 Because of the presence of sugar the decolorized cultures are 

 unsuitable for agglutination tests. The difficulty, however, is 

 avoided and time saved if duplicate inoculations are made, one in 

 saccharose medium and the other in plain peptone water. In this 

 way the peptone culture corresponding to the decolorized saccharose 

 culture is used for the agglutination test as confirmatory evidence. 

 By this method a great many unnecessary microscopic tests can 

 be eliminated and a diagnosis made of a large number of cases in 

 a few hours. 



Allied Spirilla. El Tor Vibrios. Six different strains of 

 spirilla were isolated by Gotschlich at El Tor from the bodies 

 of pilgrims on the way to Mecca, who had died with dysenteric 

 symptoms although there were no cases of cholera in the vicinity. 

 These El Tor strains appear identical with the cholera spirilla 

 morphologically and culturally and in their serological relation, 

 but in addition they produce a strong hemolysin. There is still 

 a difference of opinion as to whether they should be classed with 

 the true cholera or regarded as a distinct species. 



Spirillum Metchnikovii. The organism was first obtained 

 by Gamaleia from a cholera-like disease of fowls epidemic in 

 Odessa. Morphologically and culturally it is identical with the 

 cholera spirillum save that colonies on agar have a brownish tinge. 

 It can readily be distinguished from the latter, however, by serum 



