Spiroebaetes in Mammals. g43 



Spirochaetes in Mammals. Parasites resembling the spiroebaetes 

 of fowls morpbologically occur sometimes also in mammals, their 

 etiological part however is at present not yet cleared up, as they were 

 rnet with either in healthy animals or in such as are infected with 

 piroplasma or trypanosomes. Transmission experiments have not given 

 conclusive results. The available findings are therefore described only 

 very briefly in the following : 



1. Spirochaete (Spirillum) Theileri. First demonstrated ])y 

 Theiler (1902) in the Transvaal in febrile animals together with piro- 

 plasma and trypanosomes. They are 20-30 m long, spiral-shaped bodies. 

 The first experiments of transmission were without results, later how- 

 ever Theiler reported that he succeeded in transmitting the parasite 

 from cattle to cattle and to sheep, and Dodd also found that they 

 may be transmitted from animal to animal. 



According to Theiler the natural infection is transmitted by the 

 Boophilus decoloratus and the Rhipicephalus Evertsi, and Laveran 

 & Vallee succeeded in infecting a cow at Alfort, by placing larvae 

 of the first-named species, which originated from ticks taken from 

 cattle in the Transvaal. In this case spirochetes appeared in the blood 

 between the fifteenth and the nineteenth day without the development 

 of perceptible symptoms. Nevertheless Theiler believes that these 

 parasites are independently capable of producing a disease, the autopsy 

 findings of which resemble those of piroplasmosis. 



Evidently the same spirochetes were found by Zieniann in Kamerun in a 

 calf, by Heanley in two Chinese Imffalo calves, and by Koch in Daressalam in 

 cattle. 



2. Spirochaetes Tschischir, demonstrated by Djatschenko in 

 Kuban (Russia) in the blood, spleen and liver of cattle which were 

 affected with symptoms of an infectious hemoglobinuria. The parasite 

 has the form of a comma or of an "S" and can l,e cultivated artificially 

 (Vibrio?). Transmission experiments were negative. 



3. Spirochaete Ovina, found by Martoglio & Carpano in Erythtaea 

 simultaneously with endoglobular parasites in a sheep affected with 

 febrile symptoms. It forms threads 10-20 i^ long, with 4-10 spiral 

 windings; artificially they could not be transmitted. 



Theiler also reports finding spirochaete in sheep in the Transvaal, and Zie- 

 niann in Kamerun (Dodd considers them identical with the Sp. Theileri). 



4. Spirochaete Suilla, found by Dodd in Pretoria in the tissue 

 of superficial ulcers of the skin, which extended over the entire body 

 of hogs (10-14 M long, with 2-6 spiral windings). Material from the 

 ulcers rubbed into the scarified skin of healthy hogs produced a similar 

 skin affection, which under progressive emaciation usually led to death. 

 Similar parasites were found by Cleland in West Australia in fibrous 

 nodules of castration wounds. 



5. Spirochaete Equina. Stordy in East Africa found spirillae 

 in very great numbers in the blood of a horse which showed a fatal 

 affection with symptoms of high fever, swelling of the subcutis and 

 emaciation. A similar finding is reported by Stordy in a severely 



