THE DIPHTHERIA BACILLUS 121 



Diphtheria of Birds. 



' Pigeon diphtheria ' appears to be generally due to an 

 organism resembling the bacillus of hsemorrhagio septi- 

 caemia, but the 1907 epidemic in wood-pigeons and 

 some other epidemics were presumably due to Loffler's 

 B. diphtheria? columbarium, a short, non-motile organism, 

 which is Gram-negative and forms no spores. 



Diphtheritic roup of poultry is supposed to be due to a 

 protozoon. Macfadyen and Hewlett isolated a Klebs- 

 Loffler-like organism from the throats of healthy birds, 

 but the organism was non- virulent to guinea-pigs. Jordan 

 states that an organism usually present in roup differs 

 essentially from the Klebs-Loffler organism; diphtheria 

 antitoxin is without effect upon the progress of roup. A 

 tough, yellow, false membrane is found on the conjunctivas 

 and the mucous membranes of the mouth, pharynx, and 

 breathing passages of the birds, and, apart from the ques- 

 tion of transmissibility of the disease to man, the affected 

 birds are emaciated to a degree that renders the flesh 

 unfit for food. 



Calf Diphtheria (malignant or ulcerative stomatitis) is 

 said by Hewlett to be produced by an anaerobic strepto- 

 thrix, while Stockman attributes it to Bang's necrosis 

 bacillus. 



CHAPTER IX 

 THE BACILLI OF H^MORRHAGIC SEPTICAEMIA 



THIS class of organisms comprises the infecting agents 

 of bubonic plague, rabbit septicaemia, swine plague, fowl 

 cholera, and septic pleuro-pneumonia of cattle. These 

 affections are characterised by the presence of hsemor- 

 rhagic areas under the skin and throughout the internal 

 organs. The organisms themselves all show bipolar 

 staining (i.e., the ends of the organisms stain deeply, 

 whereas the central portion hardly stains at all). The 

 bacilli are Gram-negative, are short and non-motile, and 

 do not form spores. 



Bacillus Pestis. 



Morphology. In the body it occurs as a short, almost 

 ovoid, rod, measuring on the average about 2'3 ft by 



