496 
THOMPSON YATES LABORATORIES REPORT 
group of bacilli. It is from this point of view that the B. icteroides obtains greater 
interest, for there is a certain amount of evidence that members of this group are 
capable of giving rise to disease in man apart from yellow fever (vide references to 
several papers concerning 'food poisoning ' given in the British Medical Journal^ vol. 
ii, 1899). 
More especially interesting are the outbreaks of so-called psittacosis, apparently 
due to the importation of parrots from South America (Buenos Ayres). And the cases 
related by Gwyn 1 of a case of typhoid-like disease, presumably caused by a bacillus 
associated to this group ; and by Cushing 2 who made a very careful study of the 
relationships of his bacillus. 
To return to Agramonte's account, by using the same mode of taking blood as 
that used by Wasdin and Geddings, namely, from the tip of the ear, although not 
unnaturally contaminations were met with, the B. icteroides was never met with ; 
this, perhaps, hardly harmonizes with the supposition that Wasdin and Geddings had 
derived their ' success ' from bacteria washed from the skin. Thirty-seven cases were 
thus investigated. Blood was then taken directly from vein and planted in twelve 
cases into broth, in seven cases into milk, and in thirty cases upon agar ; only in four 
cases did growth occur, and in none did B. icteroides appear. So that the findings 
were entirely negative both with peripheral capillary and systemic venous blood. 
Agramonte gives also the result of twenty-three autopsies performeci upon yellow 
fever cadavers ; in seven of these B. icteroides was met with (i.e., 30-43 per cent.), at the 
same time much contamination or invasion was present, for out of the twenty-three 
not one appears to have been sterile ; since forms of B. coli and cocci were encountered. 
Thus B. coli occurred ' constantly ' in the liver and was also found in kidney, spleen, 
etc. Bacillus 'X' of Sternberg and B. pyocyaneus, were also met with. It would 
not be profitable to discuss the reason of this very high proportion of contamination. 
Furthermore, three cases which were not yellow fever (including the above-mentioned 
case ot P. Smith) also one of stabbing and one of combined ague, rheumatism and 
dysentery) yielded B. icteroides on cultivation. Next the serum of yellow fever patients 
(thirty-eight) was tried for agglutinative reaction in dilutions of 1 :io without positive 
result. 
The serum of convalescents was also tried to see whether it would protect animals 
against injections of B. icteroides. So far as the experiments go they failed to 
shew a protective influence ; the exact method of experiment is not detailed nor is the 
approximate multiple of the minimal fatal dose of the culture given, so that the value 
of the trial cannot be exactly appreciated. Lastly, the effect of the serum of con- 
valescents was tried on four cases of yellow fever ; one in which the treatment only 
began on the fifth day of illness died, the others recovered, but the account does not 
1. Gwyn, Bulletin of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1898, IX, p. 54 
2. dishing, ibid, 1900, XI, p. 156 
