

CHAPTER XVIII. 



INFLUENZA, PLAGUE, RELAPSING FEVER, 

 MEASLES, RHINOSCLEROMA. 



INFLUENZA. 



THE first account of the organism now known as the 



influenza bacillus was published simultaneously by Pfeiffer, 



Kitasato, and Canon, 



in January 1892. The ^*J ' '"?. 



two first - mentioned *, % . ' 



observers found it in f J . *'& **&*'. 



the bronchial sputum, / ' 



and obtained pure cul 't- 



tures, and Canon ob- ''V > 



served it in the blood fl j ," "r 



in a few cases of the /\* % ,* ' '**' * - 4 V* r 



disease. It is, however, ?" 



to Pfeiffer's work that ^ . ; 



we owe most of our AV***- / ' u / V ' 



knowledge regarding * % *^ V \ t 



its characters and ac- * ^ * ', r . ^ ** 



tion. From the facts 



Which have been FIG 98. -Influenza bacilli from a culture 

 ..... . on blood agar. 



established concerning Stained with carbol-fuchsin. x 1000. 

 it, this organism has 



strong claims to be considered the specific agent in the 

 disease, though absolute proof is still wanting. 



Microscopical Characters. The influenza bacilli as seen 



