404 A MANUAL OF BACTERIOLOGY 



claimed to have succeeded by growing it in glycerin fish 

 broth. The bacillus cultivated was acid-fast, and agglu- 

 tinated with, and was sensitised by, lepers' serum. 



Deycke, 1 by taking fragments of leprosy tissue and 

 incubating for several weeks in physiological salt solution 

 at 37 C., obtained a growth of a semi-acid-fast strepto- 

 thrix, S. leproides. He is uncertain if this is a true growth 

 of the leprosy bacillus. Twort 2 claimed to have culti- 

 vated the B. leprce on a medium consisting of eggs, 

 glycerin, and ground-up tubercle bacilli. Clegg states 

 that the leprosy bacillus will grow in symbiosis with 

 amoabse, and Duval that it grows in 1 per cent, human 

 serum in symbiosis with some bacteria. Kedrowsky and 

 Bayon claim to have grown the organism on a placental- 

 juice agar, and Bayon obtained complement fixation with 

 his cultures with leper serum. Kedrowsky 's organism is 

 a non-acid-fast diphtheroid, Clegg's an acid-fast chromo- 

 genic bacillus ; Duval' s and Bay on' s are acid -fast leproid 

 bacilli. 



The serum of few lepers agglutinates the acid-fast 

 organisms isolated from leprosy, and then only with a 

 small proportion of the cultures. 



Rost stated that he had obtained cultures of the 

 leprosy bacillus in a chlorine-free medium, but this was 

 not confirmed. Later, he claimed success by cultivating 

 in a medium consisting of the fluid obtained by the steam 

 distillation of rotten fish to which is added a little Lemco 

 broth and milk. Williams grew a non-acid-fast strepto- 

 thrix in ordinary broth, and also cultivated acid-fast 

 bacilli in a modified Rost medium (substituting distilled 

 water for the fish distillate). The author also grew a non- 

 acid-fast streptothrix from a case of leprosy on brain 

 agar containing the juice from disintegrated B. mega- 



1 Brit. Med. Journ., 1908, vol. i. p. 802. 



2 Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond., B, 1911. 



