22,1 Sellards and Leiva: Amoebic Dysentery 11 



of appetite. This kitten became very ill eighteen days after 

 injection of amoebae and was sacrificed. The large intestine 

 showed no microscopic lesions, and no amoebae were found in 

 smear preparations. A blood culture developed a growth of 

 staphylococcus. A similar result was obtained in the case of 

 kitten 16. Two other kittens (Nos. 10 and 13) behaved in a 

 very similar manner, except that the bacterial complications 

 were more acute, and the animals were sacrificed in little more 

 than a week after injection. No amoebae were found at autopsy. 

 It is entirely possible that a recrudescence of the amoebic infec- 

 tion might have developed in these animals; but, even if this 

 beneficial result is only temporary, it constitutes a striking 

 contrast to the continuous excretion of amoebae by the untreated 

 kittens. 



The best results were obtained by securing an early diagnosis 

 in adult cats, giving the treatment by rectum. Two adults 

 (Nos. 17 and 18) showed considerable blood and numerous 

 amoebae on the third day after injection. Emetine in 1 to 1,000 

 solution was given in a dose of 7.5 milligrams per kilogram 

 to one of these animals and 10 milligrams per kilogram to the 

 other. On the next day, a large normal saline enema was 

 given, but no blood nor amoebae were obtained from either animal. 

 Treatment was continued until one cat had received a total 

 of 22.5 milligrams of emetine per kilogram of body weight and 

 the other 20. These animals remained well for a long period. 

 One eventually died, thirty-five days after injection. The autopsy 

 did not show any obvious cause of death. The large bowel was 

 entirely free from lesions. The other died eighty-two days 

 after injection. The autopsy showed an extensive broncho- 

 pneumonia; the large bowel was free from lesions. These 

 two cats were inoculated from a kitten (No. 20) which developed 

 extensive dysenteric lesions after having received a prophylactic 

 injection of emetine. The virulence of the strain, however, 

 was shown by the acuteness of the initial symptoms in the two 

 treated animals and in an adult control (No. 19), which died 

 six days after inoculation and showed typical amoebic ulceration 

 of the bowel. 



The radical cure of amoebic infection in cats is strongly 

 indicated by this experiment. However, adults do not always 

 escape bacterial complications, even though the amoebae are 

 promptly inhibited by emetine treatment. This was seen in 

 three instances (Nos. 3, 4, and 12). 



