486 WHOOPING-COUGH 



bacilli. They obtained growths of these organisms, and on 

 comparing them with their own bacillus found that distinct 

 cultural differences could be made out. The most marked 

 distinctions were, however, obtained on studying the serum 

 reactions of convalescents from the disease. They found that 

 in many cases, though not invariably, such sera agglutinated 

 their bacillus, but none of the influenza-like organisms. The 

 most important result, however, was that in every case examined 

 the serum of convalescents gave the deviation of complement 

 reaction very markedly with the whooping-cough bacillus, but 

 with none of the others. This means, of course, that a true 

 anti-substance to the bacillus (immune-body or substance 

 sensibilisatrice) was present in the serum, and points to a true 

 infection with the organism (p. 127). The results of the 

 application of the test to adults suffering from bronchial irrita- 

 tion have been to show that they more frequently suffer from 

 whooping-cough infection than was formerly supposed, the 

 paroxysmal stage being often absent. 



Pathogenic Effects. — The general results obtained by Bordet 

 and.Gengou were that the ordinarily used animals were not 

 susceptible to true infection with the bacillus, but that it 

 contained a powerfully acting endotoxin, which produced both 

 local and general effects. The injection of a small quantity of 

 the bacillus into the eye of a rabbit produced a local necrosis, 

 with little inflammatory change, and the introduction of dead, 

 as well as living, cultures into guinea-pigs caused death from 

 toxic action, there being hsemorrhagic oedema locally, and 

 haemorrhages and necrotic foci in organs. Similar results were 

 obtained with an endotoxin prepared according to Besredka's 

 method. They advanced the view that the bacillus is present 

 in large numbers at the beginning of the disease, and inflicts 

 some local damage on the bronchial tubes which may persist 

 after the disappearance of the bacillus and keep up the irritation. 

 It was not found possible to obtain an antitoxin to this toxin. 

 Very important results have, however, been since obtained by 

 Klimenko, who succeeded in infecting monkeys and young dogs 

 by intratracheal injection of pure cultures of the bacillus. After 

 a period of incubation, there occurred an illness in which 

 symptoms of pulmonary irritation and irregular pyrexia were 

 outstanding features. Usually, in the case of the dogs, a fatal 

 result followed after two or three weeks, and post mortem there 

 were found symptoms of catarrh of the respiratory tract and 

 sometimes patches of broncho-pneumonia, from which the bacillus 

 could be recovered in pure culture. The serum of the infected 



