IO4 STUDY AND IDENTIFICATION OF BACTERIA 



water supply rarely show more than about three typhoid deaths 

 per 100,000 population per year. Edinburgh shows less than one per 

 200,000 for the year 1910. In American cities rates of twelve to fif- 

 teen per 100,000 are common. 



The Gartner or Meat-poisoning Group. Under this designation 

 may be considered the organisms which cause gastrointestinal disorders 

 of varying degrees, infection with which is usually brought about by the 

 ingestion of meat obtained from diseased cattle. Unless the meat is 

 thoroughly cooked the bacilli in the interior may not be killed. 



In this group may be placed B. enteritidis, the typical meat-poisoning organism, 

 B. paratyphoid B, B. Danysz, B. Aertryck, B. typhi muriiim and B. suipestifer. 



B. suipestifer or the hog cholera bacillus was formally thought to be the cause of 

 this important epizootic. It is found in the intestines of quite a percentage of 

 healthy hogs. The cause is now known to be a filterable virus. 



These organisms are alike morphologically and culturally and show quite a 

 tendency to bipolar staining and reduction of neutral red with fluorescence in 

 forty-eight hours. B. paratyphoid B, B. Aertryck and B. suipestifer are alike 

 from an agglutination standpoint, while B. enteritidis and B. Danysz show similar- 

 ity in this respect. B. paratyphoid A stands by itself. 



Paratyphoid Bacilli (Achard and Bensaude, 1896; Schottmuller, 

 1901). Cases resembling mild attacks of typhoid occasionally show 

 agglutination for paratyphoid bacilli. These organisms have also 

 been isolated from the blood, as with typhoid. Two types have been 

 recognized: the paratyphoid A and the paratyphoid B. The latter 

 occurs in 80% of such cases. Culturally, paratyphoid B. cannot be 

 separated from Gartner's bacillus. In paratyphoid A there is less gas 

 produced in glucose bouillon than with paratyphoid B, and the primary 

 acidity of litmus milk is not succeeded by a subsequent alkalinity. It 

 does not seem practical to draw a fine distinction between these two 

 strains. 



Paratyphoid B. not only gives symptoms resembling a mild typhoid infection, 

 but may show symptoms more like those of meat poisoning or even cholerine. It 

 is more pathogenic for laboratory animals than is B. typhosus. The development of 

 antibodies upon immunizing a man or animal with paratyphoid organism does not 

 seem to approach that obtained with typhoid. 



Bacillus enteritidis (Gartner, 1888).' This organism has been 

 frequently isolated from cases of gastroenteritis from ingestion of in- 

 fected meat. 



Meat from healthy animals which has been in contact with that of diseased 

 animals may become injected. The simple act of placing a piece of infected meat 



