176 BACTEEIOLOGY OF THE EYE 



STOEWER, Diplobazillenkeratitis. K. M. f. A., 1905, XLII, Bd. 2, S. 142. 



TOOKE, R, Ophthalmic Record, May, 1906. 



USHER and FRASER, R. L. 0. H. Rep., 1906, XVI, p. 434. 



VALLAUDE, These de Bordeaux, 1901, S. 78. 



ZUR NEDDEN, K. M. f. A., January, 1902. 



ZIA, Atiologie der versch. Conjunctivitisformen. Inaug.-Diss., Marburg, 1903. 



SECTION 3. PNEUMOCOCCAL CONJUNCTIVITIS. 

 PLATE II., FIG. II. 



Historical. 



In 1893 Gasparrini found Pneumococci on the conjunctiva in cases 

 of hypopyon-keratitis, and was able to produce a pneumococcal con- 

 junctivitis in rabbits by the injection of Pneumococci under the con- 

 junctiva, or their introduction on to the injured mucous membrane. 



Morax and Parinaud (1894) give the first records of pneumo- 

 coccal conjunctivitis as a definite disease in man. Parinaud described 

 it in infants at birth as a unilateral, benign, but often chronic 

 affection, which was associated with severe lacrymation and nasal 

 catarrh, and in many cases with inflammation and stenosis of the 

 nasal duct. Parinaud considered it possible that the whole infection 

 arose from the nose, but that infection direct from the vagina was 

 more probable. Morax, under whose direction this research was 

 conducted, expressed doubts later concerning the causal significance 

 of the Pneumococci in these cases, seeing that when examined daily 

 they might for a time be quite absent. They have, at all events, 

 only a secondary importance. 



Morax' earliest cases were children under two years old. He stated 

 that a slight pseudo-membrane formed, but that there was no lac- 

 rymal affection. The conjunctivitis subsided in a few days. Morax 

 considered that it was not contagious, as he only observed single cases, 

 which were limited to one eye. 



The papers by Gasparrini and by Axenfeld appeared simultaneously 

 in 1896. Both proved in numerous cases of varying ages that both 

 eyes were almost invariably affected successively, and that frequentl}' 

 many people living together became affected one after the other. 

 Axenfeld described two widespread epidemics. While Gasparrini 

 concluded from his cases that pneumococcal conjunctivitis was always 

 contagious, and to the same degree as Koch- Weeks conjunctivitis, 

 Axenfeld was able to show that, in spite of the contagiousness of 

 many cases, such was not constantly so for all persons. Both authors 

 stated that the appearances varied in intensity. W T hile Gasparrini 



