Infections of the Ovum, Embryo and Fetus 511 



(4) The Paratyphoid Bacillus of Moussu 1 



Moussu declares, apparently upon adequate grounds, that 

 in a large section of France much abortion is due to a short 

 bacillus of the colon group. The B. abortus is absent. 



(5) The Spirillum of Smith- and Others 



Smith, in studying a series of aborts from a large dairy 

 herd, obtained pure cultures of B. abortus in 27 (66%) and 

 a spirillum or vibrio in 14 (34$). In other aborts Smith 

 failed to find either the B. abortus or the spirillum, but rec- 

 ognized bacteria belonging to the colon and other groups. 

 The lesions in the aborts did not vary with the variations of 

 the bacteria present, but were fundamentally alike in all. 



(6) Miscellaneous Bacteria 



Isolated cases of abortion have been attributed to various 

 bacteria other than those mentioned above. A few have 

 been attributed to B. pyogenes. Bacterial search of the 

 tubo-utero-cervical canal reveals a great variety of infec- 

 tions present in non-pregnant and pregnant animals. A 

 streptococcus of the viridans group is dominant apparently 

 in serious tubal infections and perhaps plays an essential 

 role in the necrosis of the apices of the embryonic sac. 

 Probably it causes the death of many fertilized ova and of 

 embryos. 



F. The Nature of Abortion 



The belief that abortion is generally due to a specific con- 

 tagion of the pregnant uterus and its contents, inevitably 

 involves the belief that the infection can not exist in the gen- 

 ital tract prior to conception and that it must cease to exist 

 with the termination of pregnancy. Neither can the alleged 

 specific infection cause other results than abortion. Hence 

 the orthodox believer in the specific character of abortion de- 



] Prof. G. Moussu. Sur l'Avortement Epizootique. Tenth Internat. 

 Vet. Cong., 1914. 



2 Theobald Smith. Spirilla associated with Disease of the Fetal 

 Membranes in Cattle. Jour. Exp. Med., Dec. 1, 1918. 



