278 



GLANDERS 



are few in number, and it may be impossible to find any in 

 sections. They have less powers of persistence, and disappear in 

 the tissues much more quickly than tubercle bacilli. 



There has been dispute as to whether or not they contain 

 spores. Some consider certain of the unstained portions to be 



of that nature, and it has 

 been 'claimed that these 

 can be stained by the 

 method for staining spores 

 (Rosen thai). But it is 

 very doubtful that such is 

 the case ; the appearances 

 correspond rather with 

 mere breaks in the proto- 

 plasm, such as are met 

 with in many other bacilli 

 which do not contain 

 spores, and the compara- 

 tively low powers of resist- 

 ance of glanders bacilli 

 containing these so-called 



FIG. 95. Glanders bacilli, 

 culture on glycerin agar. 

 carbol-fuchsinand partially decolorised to 

 show segmentation of protoplasm, x 1000. 



spores, is strongly against 

 from a pure , f . , . , ? ' 

 Stained with their being of that nature. 



The power of resistance is 

 after all the important 

 practical point. 



Staining. The glanders bacillus differs widely from the 

 tubercle bacillus in its staining reactions. It stains with simple 

 watery solutions of the basic stains, but somewhat faintly (better 

 when an alkali or a mordant, such as carbolic acid, is added), 

 and even when deeply stained it readily loses the colour when a 

 decolorising agent such as alcohol is applied. We have obtained 

 the best results by carbol-thionin-blue (p. 98), and we prefer to 

 dehydrate by the aniline-oil method. In film preparations of 

 fresh glanders nodules the bacilli can be readily found by staining 

 with any of the ordinary combinations, e.g. carbol-thionin-blue 

 or weak carbol-fuchsin. By using a stain of suitable strength 

 no decolorising agent is necessary, the film being simply washed 

 in water, dried and mounted. M'Fadyean recommends that 

 after sections have been stained in Lomer's methylene blue and 

 slightly decolorised in weak acetic acid, they should be treated 

 for fifteen minutes with a saturated solution of tannic acid ; 

 thereafter they are washed thoroughly in water, and as a contrast 

 stain a 1 per cent solution of acid fuchsin may be applied for 



