JOURNAL OF AGEKHIH1AL RESEARCH 
Vox,. XI Washington, D. C., October 15, 1917 No. 3 
CONGLUTINATION TEST FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF 
GLANDERS 
By H. W. Schoening, 
Veterinary Inspector , in Charge of Experiments in Dourine and Glanders , Pathological 
Division , Bureau of Animal Industry , United States Department of Agriculture 
REVIEW OF PREVIOUS SERODIAGNOSTICAU WORK 
Within the last decade rapid strides have been made in the diagnosis 
of infectious diseases by means of the various serological tests. In 
veterinary medicine glanders has perhaps received the most attention 
of those interested in serological work, owing in part to its prevalence 
the world over, the economic importance of its early and sure diagnosis, 
and its great menace to the equine and allied species, as well as to man. 
The first steps in the serodiagnosis of glanders were made in 1896, when 
M’Fadyean (5) 1 called attention to the possibilities of the employment 
of technic similar to the Widal agglutination reaction for typhoid fever. 
The agglutination test, however, was not generally adopted until the 
method was perfected by Schiitz and Miessner (11), whose work was 
published in 1905. 
In 1908 Schiitz and Schubert (12) published their important work on 
the diagnosis of glanders by means of the complement-fixation test. By 
the simultaneous employment of both the agglutination and complement- 
fixation tests, the serodiagnosis of glanders was firmly established as a 
most reliable means of determining the presence or absence of glanders 
infection. 
In 1912 Pfeiler and Weber (8) published a report on a new method for 
the serodiagnosis of glanders, the conglutination test, utilizing the phe¬ 
nomena that occur when certain definite amounts of fresh normal horse 
serum, inactivated cow serum, and washed red blood corpuscles of the 
sheep are brought together, resulting in a clumping or agglutination of 
the red blood cells followed by more or less hemolysis. This test has 
been employed in the diagnosis of syphilis and dysentery in man, while 
Pfeiler and Weber (7), Stranigg (14), Waldman (16), Anderson (1), 
1 Reference is made by number to “ Literature cited,” p. 74-75. 
Journal of Agricultural Research, 
Washington, D. C. 
kc 
(6s) 
Vol. XI, No. 3 
Oct. 15, 19x7 
Key No. A—31 
