148 White Scours of Sucklings. 



animal body they may again be taken up by the digestive tract of 

 other newborn animals and produce the disease. Repeated transmission 

 increases the relative virulence of the bacteria which then retain the 

 severe pathogenic action until they again lose their virulence through 

 the influence of certain conditions. 



The lowered natural resistance of the animal is considered 

 by Jensen to be of great importance, as he succeeded in pro- 

 ducing the disease by feeding material which has a weakening influence 

 only on the intestinal wall. Thus the disease developed after two 

 administrations of 5 gm. doses of creolin, and after repeated doses 

 of pyoktannin (in all 0.75 gm.) or trichloride of iodine (0.65 gm. 

 given inside of 30 hours). This is also substantiated by the fact 

 that the disease will appear when the newborn calves are fed boiled 

 milk instead of colostral milk. 



It is not yet positively established whether the causative agent 

 of the disease represents a "pathogenic variety" of the colon bacillus 

 (Jensen, Titze & Weichel) or is a "virulent colon bacillus" (Poels) 

 or again whether it is "a variety of the bacillus coli communis which 

 is pathogenic only for calves" (Joest found the isolated bacillus 

 identical with the organism isolated by the other two authors) . Of 

 great importance is the fact that among the colon bacilli very widely 

 distributed in nature there are such, which may as facultative parasites 

 sometimes attain a high virulence for calves and when possessing such 

 properties may form a dangerous virus. 



In some cases other bacteria have been demonstrated to be 

 the cause of white scours, as the bacillus aerogenes, paracolon 

 bacilli (identical with Gaertner's enteritidis bacillus?) as well 

 as varieties of the proteus. These are found as a rule only when 

 the disease develops somewhat later in life (Jensen). Further 

 the bacillus enteritidis Gaertner and the bacillus pyocyaneus 

 (Poels) enter into the etiology of this disease. According to 

 the causative agent the disease may show marked clinical differ- 

 ences (Jensen; see page 151). ^ 



Titze & Weichel found among 210 strains from white scours from different 

 parts of Prussia 160 colon, 4 paracolon and 16 pseudooolon strains, further 24 

 strains of the bKcillus enteritidis of Gaertner and two strains each of bacillus para- 

 typhosus B, bacillus lactis aerogenes and of the bacillus proteus mirabilis. (Para- 

 colon bacilli or Gaertner 's bacilli and bacillus paratyphosus B can be only dis- 

 tinguished from each other by agglutination tests; pseudocolon bacilli resemble 

 colon bacilli, but they coagulate milk). In cultures of colon bacilli the presence of 

 toxins could not be demonstrated, but they were found in cultures of Gaertner 's 

 bacillus that were at least ten days old, and also in cultures of paratyphosus B 

 bacilli and paracolon bacilli. The toxic action was somewhat diminished by heat- 

 ing the filtrate containing the toxins for a half hour at 60 °C., and at 80° the 

 toxicity was entirely destroyed. The administration of potent toxins per os caused 

 diarrhea in test animals. Schmitt repeatedly found also, in calves affected with 

 scours, bacilli of the paratyphosus B group, which finding deserves especial consid- 

 eration, as this bacterial group plays an important part in meat poisoning. (Titze 

 & Weichel could never demonstrate such bacilli in healthy animals). 



Eecently Krautstrunk isolated a diploooecus from the blood and organs of 

 calves affected with scours which resembles the pneumococcus of man. The cultures 

 of this organism even in small quantities (few loopfuls of agar culture) adminis- 

 tered to newborn calves, either in milk or by intravenous injections within a few 

 days produced a fatal typical white scours which was sometimes accompanied by 

 swelling of the joints. The diplococcus which is Gram positive and has been ob- 

 tained in pure cultures, in 9 out of 73 cases, and in 16 cases was found in associa- 



