54 BACTERIAL POISONS. 



as dogs cau eat large quantities of poisonous cheese without 

 its producing any eiFect." 



Brieger stated in 1885 : "All kinds of conjectures con- 

 cerning the nature of this poison have been formed, but all 

 are even devoid of historical interest; because they are not 

 based upon experimental investigations. My own experi- 

 ments toward solving this question have not progressed 

 very far." 



In the above quotation we think that Brieger has 

 hardly done justice to the work of HtJNNEFELD and Ser- 

 turner. Their labors can hardly be said to be wholly 

 devoid of historical interest, and they certainly did employ 

 the experimental method of inquiry. 



In the years 1883 and 1884 there were reported to the 

 Michigan State Board of Health about three hundred cases 

 of cheese poisoning. As a rule, the first symptoms ap- 

 peared within from two to four hours after eating the 

 cheese. In a few the symptoms were delayed from eight 

 to ten hours and were very slight. The attending physi- 

 cians reported that the gravity of the symptoms varied with 

 the amount of cheese eaten, but no one who ate of the 

 poisonous cheese wholly escaped. One physician reported 

 the following symptoms : " Everyone who ate of the 

 cheese was taken with vomiting, at first of a thin, watery, 

 later a more consistent reddish-colored substance. At the 

 same time the patient suffered from diarrhoea with watery 

 stools. Some complained of pain in the region of the 

 stomach. At first the tongue was white, but later it be- 

 came red and dry, the pulse was feeble and irregular ; 

 countenance pale, with marked cyanosis. One small boy, 

 whose condition seemed very critical, was covered all over 

 the body with bluish spots." 



Dryness and constriction of the throat were complained 

 of by all. In a few cases the vomiting and diarrhcea were 

 followed by marked nervous prostration, and in some dila- 

 tation of the pupils was observed. 



Notwithstanding the severity of the symptoms in many, 

 there was no fatal termination among these cases, though 

 several deaths from cheese poisoning in other outbreaks 



