794 PATHOGENIC MICROORGANISMS 



Mallein may cause reactions in the presence of other diseases 

 than glanders, such as bronchitis, periostitis, and other inflammatory 

 lesions and is not so specifically valuable as tuberculin for diagnosis. 



Complement Fixation in Glanders. Diagnostic complement fixa- 

 tion for the diagnosis of glanders has been developed by McNeil 

 and Olmstead at the New York Department of Health. The antigen 

 is made by growing the glanders bacilli on a 1.6 per cent glycerin 

 potato agar. From this stock cultures transplanted are made upon 

 a neutral meat-free-veal-peptone agar. Twenty-four-hour growths 

 are washed off with distilled water sterilized at 80 C. for four hours 

 and filtered through a Berkefeld. After filtration the antigen must 

 again be sterilized at 80 for one hour. 



Immunity. Recovery from a glanders infection does not confer 

 immunity against a second inoculation. 11 Artificial active immuniza- 

 tion has been variously attempted by treatment with attenuated 

 cultures, with dead bacilli, and with mallein, but without convincing 

 results. 



The serum of subjects suffering from glanders contains specific 

 agglutinins. 12 These are of great importance diagnostically if the 

 tests are made with dilutions of, at least, 1 in 500, since normal 

 horse serum may agglutinate B. mallei in dilutions lower than this. 



11 Finger, Ziegler's Beitrage, vi, 1899. 



12 Galtier, Jour, de med. vet., 1901. 



