in ANALYSIS OF PLAGUE MATERIALS 43 



worn, and it was thought that possibly plague infection had been 

 contracted through the instrumentality of infected clothing from 

 some unknown or concealed case. 



Sanguineous fluid taken from the glandular swelling of the 

 armpit was submitted for examination ; film specimens showed 

 amongst the red blood discs and pus cells numerous cocci (Gram- 

 positive), either as diplococci or in small clusters : no bacilli. Agar 

 surface plates yielded pure cultures of Staphylococcus pyogenes aureus ; 

 a guinea-pig injected subcutaneously with a fair amount of the 

 material showed no illness. Diagnosis : Infection with Staphylococcus 

 pyogenes aureus. Case recovered. 



7. Dr. Williams, port medical officer (port of London), informed 

 the medical officer of the Local Government Board that two China- 

 men (sailors, s.s. Dundas and s.s. Haselder) had died in the Seamen's 

 Hospital at Greenwich of pneumonia. They had before admission 

 been living at a lodging-house in Limehouse Causeway. One was 

 admitted to hospital on the 19th December 1903, and died the same 

 day j the other was admitted on the 24th December at 1 P.M., and 

 died at 4 P.M. on the same day. The house physician informed that 

 " the cases were very suspicious," he believed them to be plague, and 

 he was supported in this opinion by the visiting physician. At the 

 post-mortem of the second patient material was obtained : pieces of 

 lung and pieces of spleen. The lung was highly congested, in parts 

 almost consolidated. Film specimens made of the spleen showed no 

 bacteria. Film specimens of the juice of the inflamed lung showed 

 abundance of very minute bacilli, singly, in chains, and particularly 

 in large connected masses and streaks ; they resembled in staining 

 and arrangement the typical influenza bacillus. Several drops of the 

 sanguineous juice of the lung were rubbed over the surface of agar 

 solidified in plates ; the same kind of plates were made of the san- 

 guineous juice of the spleen. Guinea-pigs were injected sub- 

 cutaneously with large amounts of the lung juice, as also of the 

 spleen juice, one animal for each set. After twenty-four hours the 

 agar plates of the spleen showed no colonies, those of the lung juice 

 showed abundance of typical colonies of B. influenzae. Both guinea- 

 pigs showed no tumour and remained unaffected. Diagnosis : 

 Influenza pneumonia. 



From the above cases, which represent types of cases, 

 of which materials were submitted for bacterioscopic 



