GENUS BACTERIUM 269 



BACTERIUM CUNICULICIDIA (.FLUGGE) MIGULA. 



Synonyms. Bacillus of .rabbit septicemia; Bacterium 

 septichaemiae Schroter. 



Place in nature. In 1878 Koch 1 found an organism in 

 decomposed albuminous matter that was fatal to rabbits. 

 Later Gaffky 2 found a similar one in contaminated water. 

 Smith 3 reported in 1887 a fatal disease in rabbits due to this 

 organism. Thoinot and Masselin 4 in 1888 studied a disease 

 among the rabbits at the Alfort Veterinary College, and 

 Moore and Kilborne 5 reported an outbreak of a disease among 

 the rabbits at the Experiment Station of the Bureau of Animal 

 Industry, characterized by a localized inflammation of one or 

 more serous membranes and due to the bacterium of rabbit 

 septicemia. Beck c has described a bacillus of lung plague in 

 rabbits which was designated by Kruse as Bacillus cuniculi 

 pneumonicus and described by Migula as Bacterium cuniculL 

 This organism differs somewhat in its morphology and cul- 

 tural characters from that of rabbit septicemia. Beck calls 

 attention to the fact that fowls and pigeons are not suscepti- 

 ble. Several authors have considered this organism synonym- 

 ous with the bacterium of fowl cholera. 



Morphology. A short rod with rounded ends varying 

 in length from 1.2 to 1.8 /x and in width from 0.8 to 1.0 //,. In- 

 volution forms in which the contents seemed to be concen- 

 trated at one end of the elongated body, which assumed a sack- 

 like appearance, have been observed. 



Staining. It stains readily with the aniline dyes and it 

 is Gram negative. 



Cultivation. In its cultivation and cultural characters 



1 Koch. Loc. cit. 



2 Gaffky. Mitt. a. d. Kais. Gesundheitsajnt, Bd. I (1881) p. 50. 



3 Smith. Jour. Comp. Med. and Surgery, Vol. VIII (1887) p. 24. 



4 Thoinot and Masselin. Precis de Microbie, Third edition. 



5 Moore and Kilborne. Am. Vet. Review, Vol. XVII (1893) p. 

 285. 



'Beck. Zeit. f. Hyg., Ed. XV (1893) p. 363. 



