BACILLI OF HJEMORRHAGIC SEPTICSEMIA 125 



Bacillus Pseudo-Tuberculosis Rodentium* 

 A disease occurring spontaneously in guinea-pigs and 

 rabbits, accompanied by wasting, and progressing to a 

 fatal issue in about three weeks, is caused by the 

 B, pseudo-tuberculosis of Pfeiffer. This bacillus grows 

 readily and rapidly, forms a creamy growth on agar, and 

 a whitish growth on gelatin without liquefaction, not 

 unlike that of the colon bacillus. It also grows well in 

 bile-salt media (MacConkey). It is not acid-fast, and does 

 not stain by Gram. It has been met with in milk and 

 sewage. MacConkey has shown its fermentation attri- 

 butes to be similar to those of B. pestis. In the Suffolk 

 plague epidemic of 1910, a few rats whose appearances 

 were suggestive of plague, were found to be infected with 

 B. pseudo-tubercul 



Swine Plague. 



In the lung lesions of pigs affected with swine plague 

 (contagious pneumonia of swine), an organism very similar 

 to the bacillus of chicken cholera is found, but is not 

 regarded as the cause of the disease. Stockman is of 

 opinion that this disease comprises cases of swine fever 

 with pneumonia as a complication, and confirms 

 McFadyean's opinion that these organisms are normal 

 inhabitants of the mouth and air-passages in pigs, which, 

 owing to the weakened powers of resistance, have been 

 able to invade and multiply in the lung tissue. 



Chicken Cholera. 



This disease as a rule runs a very rapid course, pro- 

 minent symptoms being profuse diarrhoea, drooping wings, 

 ruffled feathers, and somnolency. It is said to be some- 

 times introduced into this country through foreign maize. 

 In an epidemic investigated by the authors, a fresh con- 

 signment of maize had certainly been fed to the birds 

 shortly before the outbreak. The specific bacillus is 

 a small oval bacillus, which exhibits polar staining so 

 markedly as to look like a diplococcus in stained prepara- 

 tions. The organism can be readily found in the blood, 

 but Stockman points out that the presence of such an 

 organism is, from his experience, insufficient to prove 

 cause of death, as bacilli of a similar type, which may in 



