134 THE ACUTE SELF-LIMITED INFECTIONS 



numbers. They may be also in dejecta. Many sup- 

 pose them to be in the breath, but this is probably 

 erroneous. They are in the droplets of saliva expelled 

 by coughing, sneezing, and talking. It is customary 

 in times of epidemics to go about with a towel over 

 the nose and mouth, with the feet and ankles well 

 bound, and all surfaces covered. Sputum, urine, and 

 feces should be received into 5 per cent, carbolic acid 

 and allowed to remain, well mixed, for two hours. 

 Dressings from ulcerated surfaces must be burned. 

 Doors and windows must be screened against flies and 

 mosquitoes. The room must be rat- and mouse-free. 

 After death formaldehyde or carbolic acid solution is 

 to be injected into the body entrances and applied 

 about the body on the winding sheet. 



For diagnosticating this disease an abscess is punc- 

 tured, the pus withdrawn, and slide smears and cultures 

 are made. The bacilli are found in countless numbers. 

 Cultivation on ordinary media is simple. A blood 

 culture will also reveal their presence. At death 

 bacteria will be found in practically every organ in 

 the body. 



The plague bacillus is a short plump rod, T7<nnr to 

 T3Tf o- IT inch long by ^o thro to -jnylHrc) inch wide. It does 

 not move nor form spores. It grows best at 35 C. or 

 92 F. It is stained with reasonable ease, displaying 

 a peculiar picture. The bacilli are short, thick rods 

 with rounded ends. The end sections stain much 

 more densely than the middle part, called bipolar 

 staining. These rods may grow longer and appear 

 in pairs or short chains. They are killed by 60 C. 

 or 142 F. in ten minutes, or by boiling water in two 



