Cultivation 709 



But a short time is required. The material suspected to contain the glanders 

 bacillus is injected into the peritoneal cavity of a male guinea-pig. In three or 

 four days the disease becomes established and the testicles enlarge; the skin over 

 them becomes red and shining; the testicles themselves begin to suppurate, and 

 often evacuate through the skin. The animal dies in about two weeks. If, 

 however, it be killed and its testicles examined, the tunica vaginalis testis will be 

 found to contain pus, and sometimes to be partially obliterated by inflammatory 

 exudation. The bacilli are present in this pus, and can be secured from it in pure 

 cultures. 



The value of Straus' method has been somewhat lessened by the dis- 

 covery by Kutcher,* that a new bacillus, which he has classed among 

 the pseudo- tubercle bacilli, produces a similar testicular swelling when 

 injected into the abdominal cavity ; also by Levy and Steinmetz, f who 

 found that Staphylococcus pyogenes aureus was also capable of pro- 

 voking suppurative orchitis. However, the diagnosis is certain if a 

 culture of the glanders bacillus be secured from the pus in the scrotum. 



For the diagnosis of the disease in living animals, subcutaneous 

 injections of mallein (.q.v.) are also employed. 



McFadyenJ was the first to xecomniend agglutination of the 

 glanders bacillus by the serum of supposedly infecjted animals as a 

 test of the existence of glanders. The subject has feen somewhat 

 extensively tried and officially adopted by the Prussia;i govern- 

 ment. Moore and Taylor, § in a recent review and examination of 

 the test, conclude that it is easier and quite as accurate as ths mallein 

 method and is applicable in cases where fever exists. The maximum 

 dilution of normal horse-serum that will macroscopically agglutinate 

 glanders bacilli is i : 500, but occurs in very few cases. The maxi- 

 mum agglutinative power of the serum of diseased horses not suffer- 

 ing from glanders is not higher than that of normal serum. ^ The 

 diagnosis is usually not difficult to make, but requires much care. 

 Cultures of the glanders bacillus sometimes unexpectedly lose their 

 ability to agglutinate. 



The diagnosis of glanders by means of the complement-fixation 

 method has been tried with glittering results by Mohler and Eichhorn. || 



Cultivation. — The bacillus is an aerobic and optionally anaerobic 

 organism, and can be grown in bouillon, upon agar-agar, better upon 

 glycerin agar-agar, very well upon blood-serum, and quite character- 

 istically upon potato. The optimum temperature is 37.5°C. 



Colonies. — 'Upon 4 per cent, glycerin agar-agar plates the colonies 

 appear upon the second day as whitish or pale yellow, shining, round 

 dots. Under the microscope they are brownish yellow, thick and 

 granular, with sharp borders. 



Bouillon. — In broth cultures the glanders bacillus causes turbidity, 

 the surface of the culture being covered by a slimy scum. The 

 medium becomes brown in color. 



* "Zeitschrift fur Hygiene," Bd. xxi. Heft i, Dec. 6, 1895. 

 t "Berliner klin. Wochenschrift," March 18, 1895, No. 11. 

 i "Jour. Comp. Path, and Therap.," 1896, p. 322. 

 § "Jour. Infectious Diseases," 1907, iv, p. 85, supplement. 

 II "Report of the Bureau of Animal Industry," 1910. 



