ANALYSIS OF PLAGUE MATERIALS 41 



bubonica. He died on June 12. Capillary pipettes containing 

 sanguineous fluid which had been taken by puncture from the 

 inguinal bubo soon after the death of the patient were submitted for 

 analysis. Film specimens showed numerous bipolar bacilli in size 

 like B. pestis, Gram-negative. 



Diagnosis was made : " Probably plague." 



Agar surface plates were made with the material ; these brought 

 forth in twenty-four hours (37° C.) pure cultures of colonies of 

 typical B. pestis. A guinea-pig injected subcutaneously at the same 

 time with a few drops of the original material showed, after twenty- 

 four hours, a big soft swelling. A drop of the fluid was withdrawn 

 from the swelling ; in stained film specimens it showed crowds of 

 bipolar bacilli like B. pestis, Gram-negative, non-motile. Diagnosis 

 was made : Pestis bubonica. Subcultures and further inoculations of 

 guinea-pigs and rats, both from the original agar plate as also from 

 the above guinea-pig, fully confirmed diagnosis of virulent plague. 



4. A case of Plague at Tynemouth, September 1904. — German sea- 

 man of s.s. Bishopsgate, ill with bubo, suspicions of plague ; recovered. 



Juice of bubo, obtained by aspiration, was received in sealed 

 capillary tubes. Film specimens showed no definite bacilli. With 

 the bubo fluid agar surface plates were made, and a guinea-pig was 

 injected subcutaneously in groin. 



After twenty-four hours one agar plate showed one, the other 

 two colonies, which in aspect, character, and constitution (staining 

 characters) were identical with those of B. pestis. The guinea-pig 

 exhibited after twenty-four hours a soft distinct swelling, and was 

 quiet and a little off feed. A drop of fluid was withdrawn from the 

 swelling by means of a pointed capillary pipette. This fluid in film 

 specimens showed crowds of non-motile bipolar B. pestis. Diagnosis 

 was now justified : " Plague." 



Inoculation of a further guinea-pig (subcutaneously) and a rat 

 (cutaneously) with a colony from the agar plate, and a similar set 

 with the juice of the bubo of the guinea-pig, caused fatal plague in 

 all the four animals inoculated. The two guinea-pigs as also the first 

 guinea-pig (injected with the original material from the patient) died 

 on the sixth day with post-mortem appearances of subacute plague : 

 necrotic bubo, necrotic nodules of spleen. The cultures obtained 

 from the spleen and bubo of the guinea-pig and of the rat inoculated 

 with colonies from the original agar plate were subsequently used in 

 the laboratory for experiments and study, and it was found that this 



