INFLUENZA BACILLUS l6l 



Therapeutic use of vaccines is useful only to increase leucocytes 

 which are characteristically low during the disease. 



Bordet-Gengou Bacillus of Whooping Cough. This is a very 

 minute ovoid rod lying separately, varying from .8-1.5^ long and 

 being .^fj, wide. No spores, no motility or flagella. Stains poorly, 

 best at ends; Gram-negative. It may be cultivated from expec- 

 toration early in the disease upon media containing glycerine, 

 potato, blood and agar. Aerobe, and grows best at 37C. There 

 is an endo-toxin. Infective for monkeys. The discoverers claim 

 this to be the cause of pertussis, because it will act as an antigen 

 and fix complement away from the hemolytic series. 



Its relation to pertussis has been explained by the report that it 

 is found lying between the cilia of the respiratory epithelium, an 

 embarrassment of the movements of which causes the coughing 

 attack. The only bacteriological diagnosis is by growing the 

 microbes on the medium given above, and by the complement 

 fixation test. Vaccines are said to have a prophylactic value, 

 and some relief of paroxysms certainly seems to follow their use. 



The last two microorganisms are types of the so-called hemo- 

 globinophilic bacteria because of the requirement of blood 

 coloring matter in laboratory culture media. Other forms have 

 been found in trachoma and in the spinal fluid. 



Conjunctivitis. There are two specific germs for conjunctivitis 

 separate from the gonococcus. They are the bacillus of Koch- 

 Weeks and that of Morax and Axenfeld. 



Koch-Weeks Bacillus. The organism of pink eye. This is 

 a minute, i.5juX.2/-i non-motile, Gram-negative, sporeless, poorly 

 staining rod, very like the influenza bacillus. It is aerobic and 

 non-liquefying. It grows as minute, pearly, glistening, discrete 

 colonies only upon agar of 5 percent strength plus serum. 



The Bacillus of Morax and Axenfeld. A non-motile, sporeless 

 diplo-rod; negative to Gram stain. Grows only in the presence of 

 serum or blood and liquefies the former. It is larger than the 

 Koch- Weeks bacillus, measuring up to 2/*. 

 11 



