586 BACTERIA IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 



DOGS, INFECTIOUS DISEASES OF. 



According to Schantyr (1893) the so-called "distemper" in dogs includes 

 three different infectious diseases "abdominal typhus, typhoid, and genuine 

 distemper." In several cases of so-called distemper (" staupe ") he obtained a 

 bacillus, previously described by Semmer, which reproduced the disease when 

 inoculated into healthy animals. This bacillus closely resembles Bacillus 

 typhi abdominalis, and is perhaps identical with it, but its virulence for ani- 

 mals is greater. In typhoid of dogs he found in the blood and various or- 

 gans small bacilli, which stained by Gram's method and also closely resem- 

 bled the bacillus of typhoid fever in man. Young dogs died within a short 

 time when inoculated with cultures of this bacillus. In thirteen cases of 

 genuine distemper, Schantyr found in the blood and organs a great number 

 of bacilli, from 1 to 2 p> long, mostly associated in groups, which he was not 

 able to cultivate in the usual media. Once only he obtained an agar culture 

 and from this a culture on blood serum. Two out of three dogs inoculated 

 with this culture died of distemper. 



Galli-Valerio (1895) has reviewed the literature relating to the etiology of 

 distemper in dogs, and reports the results of his own investigations. He 

 found constantly in young dogs which succumbed to the disease an oval ba- 

 cillus, 1.25 to 2. 5 n long, and 0.31 /* thick. This was present in the lungs, 

 the brain, and the spinal marrow, but never in the blood. In gelatin cul- 

 tures gas bubbles appeared along the line of puncture within twenty-four 

 hours, and a small, white, wax-like point was developed on the surface ; later 

 along and narrow funnel was seen, but this did not contain liquefied gelatin. 

 The bacillus was readily stained with the aniline colors and by Grain's 

 method. A young dog, five months old, succumbed to a subcutaneous inocu- 

 lation, at the end of eighteen days, with all the symptoms of distemper. And 

 the bacillus was recovered from the pustules, the lungs, brain, and spinal 

 marrow. 



DYSENTERY. 



While the evidence seems to support the view that certain cases of dysen- 

 tery are due to the presence of the amoeba coli, this parasite is not found in 

 others. Thus in twenty cases studied by Maggiori (1893) it was only found in 

 one ; and in an epidemic of dysentery in Japan, studied by Ogata, amoebae 

 were not found in the discharges. In the epidemic observed oy Maggiori, 

 three deaths occurred out of two thousand and one cases ; the duration of the 

 disease was from six to twelve days. The bacteriological examination dem- 

 onstrated the presence of Bacillus coli communis in great numbers, and in 

 most of the cases of Proteus vulgaris, but not in great abundance ; in six 

 cases Bacillus fluorescens liquefaciens was found ; in two Staphylocoecus 



Syogenes aureus ; in one Staphylococcus pyogenes albus ; in fiveout of eleven 

 acillus pyocyaneus in small numbers. The colon bacillus and Bacillus py<>- 

 cyaneus proved to be very virulent. Ogata found in the recent discharges, in 

 great numbers, fine, short bacilli, which liquefied gelatin and stained ly 

 Gram's method. This bacillus proved to be pathogenic for animals, and is 

 believed by Ogata to have been the cause of the epidemic observed by him. 

 Arnaud (1894) investigated sixty cases of tropical dysentery, and arrives at the 

 conclusion that it is due to a pathogenic variety of the colon bacillus. I 

 dogs inoculated in the rectum with his cultures of this bacillus had dysentery 

 as a result of these inoculations, with characteristic ulceration of the colon. 

 Laveran ((1893), also, only found amoebae in one case out of ten of " Euro- 

 pean dysentery " studied by him A bacillus which was apparently identical 

 with Bacillus coli communis was present in great numbers. Bertram! and 

 Baucher (1893) have studied an epidemic among the troops stationed at Cher- 

 bourg, and arrive at the conclusion that no one of the microorganisms found 

 by them can be considered as specific for the disease. They found among 



