INFECTIONS OF THE DIGESTIVE TRACT 213 



have therefore in B. botulinus, as in the bacillus of teta- 

 nus, an example of strict anaerobes which have acquired 

 the ability to make intense poisons but have apparently 

 incidentally lost in a measure the common putrefactive 

 properties ordinarily possessed by spore-bearing anae- 

 robes. There is reason to think that isolated cases of 

 botulism are not extremely rare in the United States. 

 The recognition of these cases by purely clinical means 

 may be very difficult when the typical symptoms are 

 not fully developed. In foreign countries, where meat 

 is distributed by a different system from that prevailing 

 in the United States, the outbreaks of botulism are apt 

 to involve many people in one locality, whereas in our 

 country the cases are apt to occur in small numbers, 

 owing to the greater opportunities for the consumption 

 of portions of the carcass hi different localities. 



