182 APPLIED BACTERIOLOGY FOR NURSES 



war, by the contamination of wounds with soil or infected 

 dust, it causes a serious infection characterized by the 

 formation of ^as in the tissues. 



>^"x 





\ 



\ ^ 



Fig. 63. — Bacillus perfringens, showing capsule; X 1100 (Hicks). 



The bacilhis is a large rod, Gram-positive, and under 

 certain conditions produces spores. It produces a toxin 

 against which, recently, an antitoxin has been developed. 

 This has been utilized to some extent during the war. 



Leprosy Bacillus. — Small, acid-fast rods, resembling 

 tubercle bacilli, found in large numbers, especially in the 

 cutaneous lesions. It is not yet established just how the 

 disease is communicated. 



Trench Fever. — An infection which caused an enormous 

 amount of illness among the troops in France, and at 

 first mistaken for influenza, for rheumatic fever, and for 

 other febrile infections, is now knoAvn to be a distinct 

 disease, and called "trench fever." It is caused by a 

 filterable virus (see Chapter XXIV) which is present in 

 the blood of the patients. Occasionally the virus is found 

 also in the patient's urine and sputum. 



