464 LEPROSY AND ACID-FAST BACTERIA 



Bacillus leprae differs somewhat from Bacillus tuberculosis in its 

 staining reactions and occurrence in lesions. 



BACILLUS LEPR.E. BACILLUS TUBERCULOSIS. 



1. Stains with aqueous solutions of Does not stain with these dyes, 

 basic anilin dyes. 



2. Stains readily by Gram's method. Stains with difficulty. 



3. Resists decolorization by the Ziehl- Somewhat more readily decolorized. 

 Neelsen stain. 



4. Large numbers of acid-fast bacilli Relatively fewer acid-fast bacilli found 

 occur within swollen cells lepra cells. together as a rule. No cells resembling 



lepra cells. 



These differences are quantitative rather than qualitative, how- 

 ever, and can not be individually relied upon to establish an absolute 

 differentiation between the two organisms. The most distinctive 

 difference is the "lepra cell" with its large number of acid-fast bacilli 

 in groups with their long axes arranged in parallel. 



Isolation and Culture. Clegg 1 cultivated an acid-fast organism from 

 lepers by growing the organism upon agar symbiotically with amebse, 

 then killing the amebse by an exposure to 60 C. for thirty minutes. 

 The bacilli, once acclimatized to artificial media, grew readily. Duval 2 

 has also cultivated acid-fast bacilli directly from lepers. Animal 

 experimentation and serological studies have been inconclusive thus 

 far. Kedrowski 3 described a pleiomorphic streptothrix-like organism 

 which grew in artificial media as a non-acid-fast streptothrix, but 

 tended to change to a pleiomorphic, diphtheroid, acid-fast bacillus. 

 (Plate III.) When this diphtheroid bacillus is injected into rats or mice 

 it becomes acid-fast and resembles Bacillus leprse in detail. Bayon 4 

 states that Kedrowski's organism is the true leprosy bacillus, and that 

 the diphtheroid form is one stage of the typical acid-fast type seen 

 in leprous nodules. The entire subject of the cultivation of Bacillus 

 leprse on artificial media must be regarded as sub judice. 



Products of Growth. Deycke and Reschad 5 isolated a streptothrix 

 (Streptothrix leproides) from a leper; from cultures of this organism 

 a fatty acid-glycerin ester was prepared, to which the name nastin 

 was applied. Rost 6 isolated an acid-fast organism from lepers, upon 

 salt-free media. A substance, leprolin, was prepared from broth cul- 



1 Philippine Jour. Sci., 1908, iv, 403. 



2 Jour. Exp. Med., 1910, xii, 649; 1911, xiii, 365; Jour. Am. Med. Assn., 1912, Iviii, 

 1427. 



3 Ztschr. f. Hyg., 1901, xxxvii, 52. 



* Centralbl. f. Bakt., Ref., 1913, Ivi, 592. 



6 Deutsch. med. Wchnschr., 1907, 89. Deycke, Lepra, 1907, vii, 174. 



6 British Med. Jour., 1905, p. 2302. 



