ABSTRACTS
243
The occurrence of hæmolytic cocco-bacilli in
the nose of normal sheep and cattle. T. J.
BOSWORTH, AND B. LOVELL (1944). J. Comp.
Path. 54, 168.
GRAM-NEGATIVE
hæmolytic cocco-bacilli have been recovered
from pneumonic conditions in sheep and cattle, both in
Great Britain and America. The authors recovered similar
organisms from the noses of 26 of 51 ewes examined by
them in a flock of 199, half of which were affected with
nasal catarrh following a spell of cold weather. As the
significance of these findings was difficult to assess, the
examination was extended to include a number of healthy
sheep and cattle. Accordingly, they swabbed the noses
of 100 normal healthy sheep, 50 from each of two flocks,
and the lower portion of the trachea of 84 sheep shortly
after slaughter. They also took swabs from the nose of a
total of 113 cows and calves in three different herds. The
swabs were rubbed on five per cent ox-blood agar plates,
and after 24 to 48 hours incubation, suspicious colonies
were picked and examined. The results are given in the
table below, which also includes those from the examination
of the 51 sheep affected with nasal catarrh.
Number and
species of
animal
51 sheep
50 sheep
50 sheep
84 sheep
6 cattle
49 cattle
50 cattle
State of health
Nasal catarrh
Healthy
Healthy
Healthy at p.m.
Healthy
Healthy
Healthy
Site of swab
Nose
Nose
Nose
Lower
portion of trachea
Nose
Nose
Nose
Number
or
isolations
26
26
14
7
0
6
3
Omitting the sheep which were suffering from nasal catarrh
hæmolytic cocco-bacilli were recovered from the nose of
40 of 100 healthy sheep and from the trachea of 7 of 84.
The number of cattle from which hæmolytic cocco-bacilli
were isolated was much smaller, only 9 out of 105 (113 ?).
From this it appears that cocco-bacilli of this class are com-
monly present in the nasal passages of sheep and to a less
extent in those of cattle. Their recovery from pneumonic
and other respiratory affections in sheep and cattle should
not, therefore, be taken to mean that they are responsible
per se for such conditions. It is more probable that their
role is only secondary to some primary factor which may
be either a virus, as suggested by some, or change in environ-
ment.
The characteristics of these organisms were as follows :—
Gram-negative cocco-bacilli or short rods, non-motile, pro-
ducing a narrow zone of hæmolysis on ox-blood agar plates,
usually fermenting glucose, maltose, mannite and saccharose
and sometimes lactose, producing no change in litmus milk,
and not forming indole except the cattle strains, about half
of which did so. (Organisms with the general characters of
the cocco-bacilli above described have often been grouped
with the Pasteurella, but their exact taxonomic position is
doubtful.) [L.S.]
Isolation of Pasteurella septica from an
appendicular abscess. G. B. LUDLAM (1944).
J. Path. Bact. 56, 307
THIS article records the isolation of Pasteurella septica from
the appendicular abscess of a sempstress working in a hospital
i n Edinburgh. The abscess which was about the size of a
cherry and situated in the proximal part of the appendix
contained yellowish creamy pus, microscopical examina-
tion of which showed numbers of pus cells and a few gram-
negative bacilli, some of which appeared to be intracellular.
Culture on blood agar yielded a profuse pure growth of a
gram-negative cocco-bacillus which culturally and biochemi-
cally was found to resemble Pasteurella septica. The orga-
nism proved pathogenic for the guinea-pig, rabbit and mouse
but only slightly so for the fowl. The identity of the orga-
nism was further confirmed by agglutination and agglutinin
absorption tests with known strains of Pasteurella septica.
A specimen of the patient's serum obtained two months
after the operation agglutinated a suspension of the orga-
nism to a titre of 1 : 240 and a known strain of Pasteurella
septica to 1 : 60. An explanation is offered as to this discre-
pancy.
During the previous three months there had been nine
other cases of appendicitis among nurses at this hospital
but only three of these were examined bacteriologically
and they yielded only Bact. coli and Cl. welchii. The sera
of some of these patients also proved negative for the pre-
sence of agglutinins to Pasteurella septica and the isolated
strain. It would thus appear that the case under review
was an isolated one. No explanation could be offered as
to how the patient had got infected.
The author claims that this is the first authentic record of
Pasteurella septica infection in a human being in Great
Britain ; for though Pasteurella-like organisms were isolated
from a number of patients suffering from infections of the
gastro-intestinal tract during the last Great War, they were
not sufficiently studied to establish their true identity.
Elsewhere, mostly on the continent of Europe, the organism
has been recovered from the following conditions :—pro-
longed puerperal pyrexia, gastro-enteritis following the
handling of fowls suffering from Pasteurella infection, em-
pyæma, meningitis following the use of rabbit-muscle as a
hæmostatic in' an intracranial operation, meningitis following
cranial fracture, blood infection following a panther bite,
local abscess as a result of cat bite and the bite of a rabbit.
[L.S.]
Infection of cat-bite and dog-bite wounds
with Pasteurella septica. E. N. ALLOT, R.
CRUICKSHANK, RUTH CYRIAS-WILLIAMS, V. GLASS,
I. H. MEYER EDITH A. STRAKER AND G. TEE
(1944). J. Path. Bact. 56, 411
THIS is a record of six cases of dog and cat-bite wound
infection (three dog-bites and three cat-bites) with Pasteurella
septica. Infection of cat-bite wounds with Pasteurella-septica
has been recorded before (see the abstract printed above),
but this is the first time a similar observation has been made
in regard to dog-bites. This adds the dog to the probable
list of Pasteurella carriers.
In three of the six cases, osteomyelitis occurred as a com-
plication. This suggests that Pasteurella septica has a special
affinity for bone which probably accounts for the intractable
nature of most animal bites.
The article is of interest as throwing further light on the
existence and importance of Pasteurella carriers. [L.S.]
A new treatment
for
dracontiasis. M.
ELLIOT (1942). Trans. roy. Soo. Trop. Med.
Hyg. 35, 291-301
AFTER brief accounts of the history, geographical distribution,
incidence, pathology, diagnosis and the clinical types of
dracon tiasis, the author deals with the details of treatment.
Accordng to him, the ideal treatment for this disease would
be to introduce a drug into the tissues which would kill the
worms, thus facilitating their extraction or else leading to
their rapid dissolution. Phenothiazine has all this action