33 THE BACTERIA IN ASIATIC CHOLERA. [CH. 



few and far between ; and besides whenever the comma- 

 bacilli were very abundant various other forms of bacteria 

 were also present in great numbers. I refer to the list of 

 cases given on a former page (p. 28). 



(e) I can fully confirm Koch's statement that no comma- 

 bacilli or other bacteria occur in the blood and in the viscera. 

 The blood was examined fresh from living patients in various 

 stages of the disease, in some the disease had not lasted 

 more than six hours, in others sixteen hours, in others twenty- 

 four hours and more. But there were no bacteria of any 

 known forms present in the blood. 



Sections of the kidney, liver, spleen, mesenleric glands, 

 made fresh and after hardening, and stained with the usual 

 dyes, were made in large numbers, but no organisms of any 

 known characters were met with. In the gastric discharges 

 (vomit) of cholera patients the comma-bacilli are rarely 

 present, as Koch has already shown ; I have myself examined 

 six cases, but have not found them more than once, and then 

 only in very small numbers indeed. 



As a result of this part of the subject we find then (i) 

 that comma-bacilli are constantly present in the intestinal 

 contents in acute cases of cholera; 1 (2) their number 

 cannot be said to have any definite relation to the acuteness 

 and severity of the illness, since in some typical and acute 



1 Koch charges me in his paper read at the Second Conference on 

 Cholera, held in Berlin on May 4, 1885, with having had to admit that 

 true cholera-bacilli occur in all cases of cholera. From this it might be 

 inferred, as is also definitely stated by Drs. Weisser and Frank (see 

 above), that I at first did not admit such a fact, but finally bad to admit 

 it. This is another instance of the manner in which Koch criticises 

 those who differ from him, for I am not aware of having ever said that 

 the choleraic comma-bacilli do not occur in all cases of cholera ; there 

 was therefore no occasion for me to alter my statement. 



