Immunity against micro-organisms 323 



erysipelas exerts an antagonistic influence against the anthrax 

 bacillus. He succeeded in immunising and even in curing rabbits [339] 

 inoculated with anthrax, by submitting them to the action of this 

 streptococcus. 



These experiments served as the starting-point for several works 

 on the vaccination of animals against anthrax by means of various 

 micro-organisms, as well as by their products. Pawlowsky 1 , Watson- 

 Cheyne 2 , and Bouchard 3 have proved that bacteria not very patho- 

 genic and even saprophytes, such as the Cocco-bacillus prodigiosus, 

 Friedlander's bacillus, and the Bacillus pyocyaneus, were also capable 

 of preventing infection by the anthrax bacillus. Freudenreich 4 

 showed that not only did the bacillus of blue pus exert an antago- 

 nistic action but that the same effect could be obtained with sterilised 

 cultures of this organism. Woodhead and Cartwright Wood 5 studied 

 the vaccinating action of these products on rabbits inoculated with 

 virulent anthrax bacilli. The animals resisted completely or survived 

 for some time. Analysing the phenomena produced under such con- 

 ditions, these two authors came to the conclusion that the action of 

 sterilised cultures of Bacillus pyocyaneus is " indirect and as taking 

 place either by opposing itself to the action of the poison upon the 

 tissues, or by stimulating certain tissues and increasing their func- 

 tional activity." With the object of obtaining an exact interpretation 

 of this antagonistic influence I suggested to M. Blagovestcheusky 6 

 that he should investigate in detail the phenomena which take place 

 in the organism of rabbits inoculated with the anthrax bacillus and 

 submitted to the action of sterilised cultures of the Bacillus pyo- 

 cyaneus. At the very outset this observer was met by the fact that 

 these cultures act directly upon the vitality of the anthrax bacillus. 

 Thus the association of the former with the anthrax bacillus in vitro 

 was sufficient to interfere with the development of the latter. Under 

 these conditions he had to renounce the investigation of the part 

 played by the cellular elements of the rabbit in the antagonism of the 

 two bacteria. 



Friedlander's bacillus has been found to be much more suitable 

 for this line of research as is shown by work carried out by Freiherr 



1 Virchow's Archiv, Berlin, 1887, Bd. cvm, S. 494. 



2 London Medical Record, 1887. 



3 Compt. rend. Acad. d. sc., Paris, 1889, t. cvm, p. 713. 



4 Ann. d. Microgr., Paris, 1889, p. 465. 



5 Compt. rend. Acad. d. sc., Paris, 1889, t cix, p. 985. 



6 Ann. de FInst. Pasteur, Paris, 1890, t. iv, p. 689. 



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