56 BACTERIOLOGY 



toxic disease, as injection of the toxins produce typic 

 symptoms of the disease. 



Symptoms are diarrhea, fever, prostration, and 

 clammy skin, etc. 



The agglutination test, as in typhoid, is positive. 



Protective vaccines have been used with considerable 

 success, but efforts to produce an antitoxin have been 

 unsuccessful. 



Treponema Pallidum (Spironema Pallida). A minute 

 spiral-shaped motile organism, found in chancre, lym- 

 phatic glands, and in secondary lesions, mucous patches, 

 ulcers, and all organs in hereditary syphilis. 



The source of infection is the discharge from the prim- 

 ary lesion or chancre, the secondary lesions, or suppura- 

 tive lesions of the tertiary stage. The organism evi- 

 dently enters the blood at once, as removal of the 

 chancre or site of primary infection at the earliest pos- 

 sible moment fails to prevent the disease. 



Means of infection is usually through sexual inter- 

 course by introduction of the germ through minute 

 abrasions of the skin or mucous membrane of the genital 

 organs. It is acquired innocently, especially by nurses 

 and physicians, or any one coming in contact with the 

 discharges of syphilitic sores. 



Prevention consists in avoidance of such sources of 

 infections, both sexually and otherwise, and strict anti- 

 septic precautions or rubber gloves in handling syphilitic 

 patients. The only animal known to be susceptible 



