BACILLI BETWEEN TYPHOID AND COLON ORGANISMS 431 



Hospital, which presented all the symptoms of typhoid fever, but lacked 

 serum agglutinating power for Bacillus typhosus. From the blood of 

 the patient, Gwyn isolatL'd an organism, with cultural characteristics 

 similar to those of the Gartner bacillus, which he called a "paracolon 

 bacillus." This bacillus was agglutinated specifically by the serum of 

 the patient. 



Gushing,' in 1900, isolated a similar microorganism from a cos- 

 tochondral abscess, appearing during convalescence from typhoid 

 fever. 



In the same year, Schottmiiller '' reported five cases from which bacilli 

 similar to those previously described were isolated. Careful cultural 

 and agglutination studies of the microorganisms obtained from these 

 cases showed that they could be divided into two similar, yet distinctly 

 different types, one of them, the "Miiller" organism, approaching 

 closely to the typhoid type, especially in its growth upon potato; the 

 other, the "Seeman" type, corresponding more closely to the Gartner 

 enteritidis bacilli. Similar cases were soon after reported by Kurth,^ 

 Buxton and Coleman,* Libman," and others. 



The two types of organisms, paratyphoid A and B, described by 

 Schottmiiller and studied by many other observers, can be culturally 

 differentiated though not without difficulty. 



Type A is more delicate in its growth on various media than B, 

 growing with almost invisible growth on potato, and differing from 

 typhoid in its gas formation on dextrose broth only. Milk is not co- 

 agulated, but remains turbid, not being finally cleared by solution of 

 the casein as in similar cultures of type B. Lactose whey is acidified 

 and remains acid. This organism is not very important as a causative 

 agent of human disease, and has been isolated from the^normal intestines 

 of animals by Morgan." Kutscher for this reason suggests that essen- 

 tially and except in rare instances this organism is a non-pathogenic 

 saprophyte. 



Type B grows more heavily on all media than A, especially on 

 potato (though this is not universally reported). Milk is slightly acid- 



1 Cushing, Johns Hopkins Hosp. Bull., 1900. 

 ^ SchoUmuller, Deut. med. Woch., 1900; Zeit. f. Hyg., xxvi. 

 ' KuHh, Deut. med. Woch., 1901. 



« Buxtm and Coleman, Proc. N. Y. Pathol. Soc, Feb., 1902. 

 ' Libman, Jour. Med. Res., N. S., iii, 1902. 



* Morgan, cited from Kutschet; Kolle und Wassermann, Handbiich. 

 Erganzungs, I. 



