NOTE ON BACTERIOLOGY AND TREATMENT OF 

 ELEMOGLOBIN^BMIA IN THE HORSE. 



As supplementary to the article on haemoglobinaemia (vol. II., 

 page 437) the later bacteriological investigations of Ljgnieres 

 must be noted. A superb Percheron, after two days of idleness, 

 went to work at 10 p. M., was attacked at 1 A. M. and died at 3 p. 

 M. Inoculations from blood, spleen, liver, kidney, bone marrow, 

 myelon and subarachnoid fluid from the loins to the bulb 

 proved sterile, excepting that made from the subarachnoid liquid 

 on a level with the bulb, which yielded a rich culture of a strep- 

 tococcus that appeared to the eye as small granules. It proved 

 aerobic and anaerobic, stained well with Gram's (I) solution, co- 

 agulated milk, acidified the culture, formed small, round, grayish 

 white colonies on peptonized gelatine, without liquifying, failed 

 to propagate on potatoes, but grew well in serum and bouillon. 



Two or three drops proved fatal to mice, producing, when 

 thrown into the peritoneum a highly acute parenchymatous ne- 

 phritis with bloody urine. Very few microbes were found in the 

 kidney. There was loss of control of the hind limbs and extreme 

 nervous irritability. 



Intravenous injection of 300 cc. of the culture in a powerful 

 stallion produced hyperthermia, 102 F. on the second day, 104 

 on the third, 105 on the fourth, on the sixth day he became 

 paraplegic and died on the seventh. 



A second horse, which received 150 cc, was sick for several 

 days, but without paraplegia, then appeared to recover, but three 

 weeks after he became paraplegic with albuminous urine and died 

 next day. 



In neither of the horses was the urine sanguineous. 



Carnivora, swine, ruminants and birds proved insusceptible. 

 The guinea pig succumbed to intraperitoneal inoculation, and the 

 rabbit to intravenous. 



It is to be noted that haemoglobinuria was lacking in both ex- 

 perimental equine cases, and though this may be so in mild casual 

 cases, the same is not true of violent and fatal ones. It is, there- 

 fore, evident that further research is necessary in this direction. 



649 



