HISTORY AND DISTRIBUTION 5 



— the method of staining now known as Ziehl- 

 Neelsen's — he discovered the acid-fast micro-organ- 

 isms which were then believed to be tubercle bacilli. 

 The condition was therefore described as a hitherto 

 unrecorded form of tubercular infection of the intes- 

 tine. Cultures from parts of the intestine rich in 

 bacilli were made on to glycerine-agar, but no growth 

 was obtained. The inoculation of guinea-pigs with 

 infective material also gave negative results. How- 

 ever, from the appearance of the bacilli in the lesions, 

 the authors were led to attribute the condition to an 

 infection with avian tubercle bacilli. Specimens were 

 submitted to Robert Koch, who gave it as his opinion 

 that the disease was either a true tuberculosis or 

 was due to some modified or degenerate form of the 

 tubercle bacillus. 



The authors (Johne and Frothingham) concluded 

 from their researches that the condition was a pre- 

 viously unrecognized form of tubercular enteritis due 

 to an infection with the tubercle bacillus, or the avian 

 tubercle bacillus, or a variation of one of these micro- 

 organisms brought about by some change in nutrition, 

 etc. Such a change, they thought, might be re- 

 sponsible for the alteration in virulence and for the 

 negative or very slight reactions produced by the 

 inoculation of ordinary diagnostic tuberculin into 

 affected animals. 



After Johne and Frothingham's original paper, the 

 next important publication with regard to this disease 

 came from Markus of Utrecht, in 1904. He stated that 

 in Holland the disease had been recognized for many 

 years by Koorevaar, who had repeatedly drawn atten- 

 tion to the thickened intestines of emaciated cattle 

 showing no gross lesions in any other organ. He 

 also stated that in some districts the condition in cattle 



