72 



Scientific Proceedings (118). 



animal usually develops symptoms of disease and succumbs. A 

 small percentage of mice, however, prove refractory to infection 

 by this route. 



2. If live cultures of this organism are injected intrapleurally or 

 intraperitoneally into mice previously "vaccinated" intrapleurally 

 or intraperitoneally, they are partially destroyed and held in check 

 by the protective mechanisms of the animal body for two or three 

 days. Subsequently, the rate of bacterial multiplication increases 

 gradually until the death of the animal. The partial protection 

 following this type of vaccination is entirely of a general nature; no 

 evidence of a "local immunity" has been obtained. 



Mice given 1 , 2 , or 3 subcutaneous doses of this organism vaccine 

 show a similar relative increase in resistance to the subsequent 

 injection of live organisms per os as intraperitoneally. 



3. Feeding mice live or killed cultures of this organism induces 

 a definite protection against subsequent intrastomachal and intra- 

 peritoneal injections of live organisms. The immunity developed 

 in this way is also of a "general" as opposed to a "local" nature. 



38 (1785) 



Therapeutic application of Bacillus acidophilus. 



By LEO F. RETTGER and HARRY A. CHEPLIN. 



[From the Bacteriological Department, Yale University, New Haven, 



Conn.] 



In previous communications to the Society (1920 and 1921) 

 we stated that Bacillus acidophilus may be implanted in the human 

 intestine by the oral administration of (1) minimum quantities of 

 lactose or dextrin, (2) whey broth cultures of B. acidophilus, or (3) a 

 combination of lactose and the acidophilus culture in which the 

 amounts of each are cut in half. Early in 192 1 the milk culture of 

 this aciduric organism was substituted for the lactose- and whey 

 broth cultures and subsequent implantation experiments have 

 been carried on with the acidophilus milk. 



In the work on pathological cases we received the friendly 

 cooperation of practicing physicians, who not only supplied us 

 with many of the most interesting subjects, but who furnished us 



