478 PATHOGENIC MICROORGANISMS 



hypodermic injections. ( 'ats, mice, and monkeys are highly susceptible; 

 rabbits are less so, but still favorable subjects for experimental studies. 

 Birds, especially pigeons, are highly resistant, but react typically to 

 large doses. Autopsies upon man or animals dead of botulism show 

 general hyperemia of the organs with much parenchymatous degenera- 

 tion and many minute hemorrhages. 



The bacilli have been found in the spleen after death, 1 but Van 

 Ermengem does not believe that they are generally distributed during 

 the course of the disease. It is believed by most of those who have 

 studied this disease that poisoning in the human subject is due to the 

 toxins preformed and ingested within the infected meat by this bacillus. 

 Experiments have shown that little or no poison is produced by the 

 bacilli after gaining entrance to the human or animal body. 



The Toxin of B. botulinus. Bacillus botulinus produces disease 

 chiefly by means of a strong soluble toxin secreted by it, and absorbed 

 by the infected subject. This toxin is active in animals and presumably 

 in man, not only when injected subcutaneously, but also when intro- 

 duced through the gastrointestinal canal. The poison has been par- 

 ticularly studied by Brieger and his collaborators. It is obtained in 

 filtrates of alkaline bouillon cultures. It has been precipitated out of 

 the filtrate by Brieger and Kempner 2 by means of a three per cent zinc 

 chlorid solution (2 volumes of 3 per cent ZnCl 2 ). The toxin thus ob- 

 tained was sufficiently powerful to kill a 250-gram guinea-pig in fifty 

 hours. 



Specific action of the toxin for the nerve-cells of the spinal ganglia 

 has been shown by Marinesco. 3 A specific antitoxin has been produced 

 by Kempner and Pollack. 4 



1 Stricht, Quoted from Van Ermengem, in Kolle und Wassermann. 



2 Brieger und Kempner, Deut. med. Woch., xxxiii, 1897. 



3 Marinesco, Compt. rend, de Pacad. des sci., Nov., 1896. 



4 Kempner und Pollack, Deut. med. Woch., xxxii, 1897. 



