REPORT UPON THE WORK CARRIED OUT IN THE MICRO-BIOLOGICAL
SECTION OF THE KING INSTITUTE OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE,
FOR THE NINE MONTHS ENDING DECEMBER 1909.
THE present report only deals with nine months, the previous report having
covered the first quarter of 1909 as well as 1908.
On his return from leave on August 19th, Captain W. S. Patton, I.M.S., was
posted to the Institute as Assistant Director. On the same date Military Assist-
ant Surgeon H. C. Jackson, till then Deputy Superintendent, proceeded on
combined leave.
During the period under report the systematic examination of the water
-supplies of the Presidency, initiated by Major Clemesha, I.M.S., has been con-
tinued. Each water-supply is examined once a quarter. In addition, the systematic
examination of the Presidency jails' water-supplies has been started, these being
examined half-yearly.
The results of these examinations are printed as appendices to this report, those
dealing with the jail supplies forming appendix No. 1, parts I and II, those
dealing with municipal supplies forming appendix. No. 2, parts I, II and III.
This work has absorbed a very large proportion of the working capacity of
the staff, and has constituted in fact the bulk of the routine work. During the
last two quarters of the year more prominence has been given to the classifying of
the bacteria found in drinking-water according to their power of withstanding the
natural purifying agencies of sunlight and oxidation. It will be noticed that there
are many organisms occurring in drinking-water, whose position in this respect is
still undetermined. More work is required in this direction and will he put in
hand, as soon as there is reasonable certainty of prolonged steady sunshine. As
noted last year, the classifying of germs according to their fermentative reactions in
different sugars is purely artificial, useful as a means of differentiation, but of
little farther practical Value. Some time must elapse before conclusions based on
this work, can be expressed with any degree of certainty ; in the meantime, how-
ever, some benefit appears to have resulted from the attention drawn to various
points in the management of water-works.
Captain Patton, the Assistant Director, has, in addition to his routine work in
the Vaccine Section, been almost entirely engaged on. protozoological work, a short
account of which is included in this report. The large number of calves that are
passed through the Institute furnishes a good opportunity of determining the inci-
dence of protozoal disease in these animals. The blood of over a thousand of them
has been examined up to date, and a Very large proportion are found to be infected
with a parasite belonging to the genus Theileria . This parasite seems to have little
pathogenicity for cattle. It is quite otherwise with regard to Piroplasma
bigeminum . Here the small percentage of calves which are found to harbour the
parasite represent the animals which have recovered from the disease, i.e ., are,
salted, and correspond to a much larger number that have succumbed. Practically,
all the calves that acquire this form of piroplasmosis at the Institute die. The
discovery of an hitherto undescribed piroplasm, pathogenic to hounds and derived.