CHAPTEE XXII. 



The spirillum (comma bacillus) of Asiatic cholera— Its morphological and 

 cnltaral peculiarities— Pathogeuic properties— The bacteriological diagnosis 

 of Asiatic cholera. 



At the conference held in Berlin in 1884 for the 

 purpose of discussing the cholera question, it was an- 

 nounced by Koch^ that he had discovered in the intes- 

 tinal evacuations of individuals suffering from Asiatic 

 cholera a micro-organism that he believed to be the 

 cause of the malady. The importance of this state- 

 ment necessarily attracted widespread attention to the 

 subject, and as one of the results there existed, for a 

 short time following, some skepticism as to the accuracy 

 of Koch's claim. These doubts arose as a result of a 

 series of contributions from other observers who en- 

 deavored to prove that the organism found by Koch in 

 cholera evacuations was one that is common to other 

 localities, and not a specific accompaniment of this dis- 

 ease. It was not very long, however, before it was 

 evident that the objections raised by the opponents of 

 Koch were based upon untrustworthy observations, and 

 that by reliable methods of investigation the organism 

 to which he had called attention could be easily differ- 

 entiated from either and all of those with which it was 

 claimed to be identical. 



This organism, known as the spirillum of Asiatic 



1 Verhandlungen der Conferenz zar Eriirtemng der Cbolerafirage, 1884, 

 Berlin. 



