BACILLI OF SWINE ERYSIPELAS. 



with bacterium termo, that the transverse diameter of the 

 erysipelas bacilli is the same as that of the hay and anthrax 

 bacilli, further that a superficial scum, as well as a deposit at 

 the bottom is formed in the fluid cultivations, and, finally, 

 that the bacilli taken from the cultivations move as actively as 

 bacterium termo, we may with certainty assume that Klein 

 has not recognised the true erysipelas bacilli, and, at most, 

 lias dealt with them in impure cultivations. 



Pasteur also has at first probably not recognised the true 

 infective agents, and has evidently worked with impure cul- 

 tivations ; and it is a matter of surprise that, nevertheless, 

 he has obtained these interesting results with regard to pro- 

 tective inoculation, now confirmed on all sides. Baillet 

 suid Jolyet (Revue Veter., 1884) also describe the erysipelas 

 organisms incorrectly as microbes of the form of the figure 

 of 8, at times arranged in chains, and in opposition to all 

 other observations virulent in guinea-pigs. 



Loemer in a case of a pig, which had died of so-called 

 .swine erysipelas, but in which the disease was evidently 

 different from the epidemic form, found other bacteria which 

 caused in guinea-pigs sero- sanguineous infiltration of the sub- 

 cutaneous tissue and hasmorrhagic affections of the muscles. 

 Further facts as to this discovery will be mentioned later. 



Of special interest is the observation made by Schottelius, A second 



rhat in almost all cultivations made from animals which had fP 6 ?), 6 . 8 . ^ , 

 ,.,,,,,.,. , . , bacilli in the 



died or this disease, the cultures being made in some cases erysipelas 



a very short time after death (within 20 minutes), other larger cultivation . 



bacilli also grew which formed light yellow spherical colonies 



in the gelatine. This bacillus, which is described in detail 



below, breaks up the gelatine with the formation of a foul 



smell, and is thus evidently one of the exciting agents of 



I mtref action, and probably comes from the intestine, in the 



contents of which Schottelius was also able to demonstrate it. 



Hence it is probable that these bacilli are able to penetrate Entrance of 



into the body even before the death of the animal, entering these bacilli 

 i .LI ^i . ,. i through tlio 



through those parts of the intestinal mucous membrane i n j ure( i 



which are denuded of epithelium and ulcerated ; this view is intestine, 

 directly supported by the observation that these bacilli are 

 present in largest numbers in the organs in the neighbour- 

 hood of the intestine (not only in the intestinal wall itself, 

 but in the mesenteric glands, and in the spleen), while, on the 

 other hand, they gradually diminish in numbers in the organs 

 further away from the intestine, and thus only occur rarely 

 in the lungs and the muscular tissue of the heart. This dis- 

 covery enables us to draw important conclusions with regard 

 to the entrance of fungi secondarily in other diseases accom- 

 panied with injury of the intestinal epithelium. 



