4
TABLE VI.
Details of specimens received for examination.
Serial
number.
Description of specimens.
Number of
positive
results.
Number of
negative
results.
Total
number
examined.
—
1
Blood for Widal's test . . .
251
435
686
2
Do. Malta fever . . .
. . .
12
12
3
Do. Wasserman reaction. 1,244
1,461
2,705
4
Do. films for malarial
parasites . . .
69
354
423
5
Do. leucocytosis . . .
1
2
3
6
Do. differential count . . .
. . .
. . .
9
7
Do. Kala-Azar . . .
2
14
16
8
Do. relapsing fever . . .
. . .
1
1
9
Sputum for tubercle bacilli . . .
33
78
111
10
Do. pneumococci . . .
6
3
9
11
Do. influenza . . .
2
4
6
12
Smears for plague (human) . . .
37
43
80
1 3
"
" (animal) . . .
29
61
90
14
" gonococci . . .
66
132
198
15
" spirochætes . . .
4
34
38
16
" bacillus lepræ . . .
3
7
10
17
" anthrax . . .
. . .
1
1
18
Culture for B. typhosus . . .
6
16
22
19
" " diphtheria . . .
3
12
15
20
" " anthrax . . .
. . .
3
3
21
" from spinal fluid . . .
. . .
7
7
22
" " knee joint fluid.
. . .
4
4
23
" " pleural fluid . . .
. . .
1
1
24
" f o r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f
organisms . . .
. . .
. . .
82
25
Section for spirochætes . . .
9
50
59
26
Stools for cholera vibrios . . .
. . .
2
2
27
" dysentery, amœb
æ, etc.
11
57
68
28
" organisms of typhoid
group.
. . .
19
19
29
Urine for B. coli . . .
13
10
23
30
" B . t y p h o s u s . . .
. . .
4
4
31
" f o r t u b e r c l e b a c i l l i . . .
. . .
1
1
3 2
" g o n o c o c c i . . .
2
14
16
33
Urine for chemical and bacterio -
logical examination . . .
. . .
. . .
33
34
Catgut, dressings, gauze, etc.,
for sterility . . .
. . .
. . .
13
Total . . .
1,791
2,842
4,770
Widal's reaction.— The total number of specimens received for this test was
686 as against 612 in the previous year. The method used was exclusively the
macroscopic sedimentation test and not the microscopic method of examination
with hanging drop preparations as adopted in previous years. Positive controls
were constantly put up with high titre agglutinating sera to ensure purity of the
strains used. The reaction of every specimen was estimated to all the three
organisms: B. Typhosus, B. Para-typhosus A, and B. Para-typhosus B. Three
samples of blood gave a positive reaction to B. Para-typhosus B, 1 to B. Para
-
typhosus A and 2 to B. Para-typhosus A as well as B. All these six specimens were
however positive to B. Typhosus in higher dilutions so that they could not be
classed as pure para-typhoid infections.
Wasserman reaction.— The large increase in the number of specimens received,
viz., 1,069 more than those received last year, is an indication of the high appreci
-
ation that this test has received not only from medical institutions but from
private medical practitioners as well. The Medical Research Committee method
introduced last year was exclusively adopted and gave accurate results. On account
of the large number of specimens which had to be examined, the test had to
be conducted twice a week necessarily involving considerable labour in its
performance.
The diagnosis of syphilis by the Wasserman test is becoming so popular that
the number of samples of blood received from the mufassal by post is steadily
increasing. Due to the constant shaking of the contents of the capsule in post.