THE RTCKETTSIA BODIES 671 



20 c.c. of melted and cooled (to 40 C.) 2 per cent, glucose 

 agar contained in a tube 2 cm. in diameter ; to this 

 is added 4 c.c. of ascitic fluid ; the whole is then well 

 mixed and finally allowed to solidify. A layer of ordinary 

 agar 2 cm. deep is then poured on the top and the cultures 

 are incubated. Colonies appear in from three to sixteen 

 days. Similar organisms have, however, been isolated 

 from the spleen (non-typhus) removed by operation. 



Proteus X 19 (see below) has also been claimed by Fried- 

 berger to be the causative organism. The Rickettsia 

 bodies are likewise believed by some to be the specific 

 organism, and a spirochsete was described by Futaki. 

 Lastly, the disease is regarded by others as being due 

 to a filterable virus. 



In 1916 Rocha-Lima called attention to the presence 

 of very minute bodies in lice that had fed upon patients 

 suffering from typhus fever. These bodies are present 

 in the contents, and in the epithelial cells, of the alimentary 

 tract of the insects. The bodies are generally ovoid, 

 often found in pairs, and thus appear bipolar. The 

 smallest forms measure 0-3 /z to 0-4 /z, and the larger ones, 

 which are sometimes bean-shaped, 0-5 p to 0-9 p. They 

 are Gram-negative and are best demonstrated by Giemsa 

 staining. Rocha-Lima regarded these Rickettsia bodies 

 as being protozoa belonging to the Clilamydozoa and 

 named the organism Rickettsia prowazeki, in memory of 

 Ricketts and Prowazek, both of whom succumbed to 

 typhus fever while investigating it. The bodies were also 

 found in the blood of typhus fever. At first, the bodies 

 were only found in infected lice, but subsequently they 

 were found in " normal " lice. Later still, they were 

 found in lice that had fed upon cases of trench fever, war 

 nephritis, malaria and other conditions. They were 

 also found in the blood in trench fever, Volhynia fever 

 and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The setiological 



