SWINE FEVER. 351 



from Klein, while not possessing the characters originally ascribed 

 to it, could not in its form, biological characters, or pathogenic pro- 

 perties, be distinguished from the American hog-cholera bacillus. 



In 1887 pig typhoid was investigated at Marseilles by Rietsch, 

 Jobert, and Martinaud, and a bacillus found. This grew rapidly 

 on all the nutrient media. In gelatine a growth was obtained in 

 twenty-four hours at 18° 0. ; on blood serum and agar an opaque 

 growth developed ; and on potato the growth was yellowish. It 

 was asserted that 'a young pig was killed by a culture in twenty- 

 two days, and that the characteristic ulcerations were observed in 

 the intestines. 



In 1887 pig typhoid was prevalent in Sweden, and Bang and 

 Selander experimented with cultui'es from a rabbit that died after 

 inoculation with a fragment of spleen from a diseased pig. The 

 bacilli were motile, varying from rods to cocci, without spore-formation 

 and pathogenic in mice, guinea-pigs, and rabbits, but not in pigeons. 

 Pigs fed on broth-cultures were said to have succumbed to genuine 

 pig typhoid. In the blood they were generally found in the form 

 of short oval bacteria, but in the blood of the heart longer rods 

 were sometimes found. MetchnikofI described a bacillus isolated by 

 Chantemesse from an outbreak in France, as highly polymorphic. 



Smith identified the hog-cholera bacillus with the bacillus found 

 by Schiitz, and this in turn has been identified with the bacillus 

 of hsemorrhagic septicaemia. 



From these researches it would appear to be probable that one of 

 the bacteria isolated by Klein, and those found by Salmon, Smith, 

 Bang, Welch and Schiitz are identical ; and further, that they have 

 been identified with the bacillus of hsemorrhagic septicaemia. We 

 may sum up the characters thus : — 



Bacillus of Klein, Salmon, Smith and Schiitz Very small 



rods, actively motile ; spore-formation not observed ; colonies circular 

 and brown by transmitted light. Inoculated in the depth of gelatine 

 faintly yellowish-white colonies develop along the track of the needle ; 

 on the surface an opalescent film ; on potato they produce a straw- 

 coloured layer, changing to brown. There is absence of indol in 

 cultures containing peptone; the bacilli are fatal to mice, guinea- 

 pigs, rabbits, and pigeons. Swine die after intravenous injection, 

 l)ut not, as a rule, after subcutaneous injection. •• 



According to Caneva, the bacillus obtained from the Marseilles 

 epidemic would appear to be closely allied, if not identical, with 

 the bacillus of ferret disease (Eberth and Schimmelbusch), and the 

 bacillus of Texas fever (Billings). 



