2
It will be seen that the number of bacteriological examinations has remained
pretty constant for the last three years, it being, as a matter of fact, limited by
the capacity of the present staff to do more than a certain number in a given time.
It has to be remembered that the full detailed examinations hitherto adopted take
ten—twelve days to complete, and if, deducting Sundays and holidays, we
assume 300 working days per year, it follows that there was an average of twenty
or more examinations always on hand. Now that we know something of the
bacterial flora of Adyar river water it will no longer be necessary to carry out
the examinations in such detail, and the materially shorter time required for each
examination will enable us to pass a much larger number through our hands.
This is a change that is eminently necessary, since it was not possible from the
results of twenty samples per day to control the actual and comparative efficien
-cies of the different filters in the installation.
Of the 617 samples dealt with 501 were taken from the experimental
filters.
Specimens sent for examination.— The number of specimens sent for examina
-tion shows a large increase over that for last year. The details of these are given
in the following table:—
TABLE II.
Number.
Description of specimens.
Number of
positive
results.
Number of
negative
results.
Total.
Remarks.
1
Plague, human . . .
3 9 111
150
Peripheral blood . . . 25
Putrefactive organisms . . . 12
2
Plague, animal . . .
53
1,249
1,302
Putrefactive organisms . . . 30
3
Blood for enteric reaction . . .
354
220
574
(i) 214 positive in (1 in 96).
(ii) 140 positive in (1 in 32) but
negative in (1 in 96).
4
Do. paratyphoid A . . .
17
182
199
Seventeen positive in (1 in 32) but
negative in (1 in 96).
5
Do. paratyphoid B . . .
32
142
174
(i) Thirty-one positive in (1 in 32) but
negative in (1 in 96).
(ii) One positive in (1 in 96).
6
Do. B. gærtner . . .
. . .
1
1
7
Do. Micrococcus meliten-
sis reaction
(Malta fever).
. . .
6
6
8
Do. Wassermann reaction.
338
196
534
Includes two indefinite.
9
Do. Malarial parasities . . .
83
*561
644 *Four films show increase of large
mononuclears suggestive of malaria.
10
Do. Kala-Azar . . .
. . .
10
10
Includes nine indefinite.
11
Do. Filaria . . .
. . .
13
13
12
Do. Leucocytosis . . .
10
100
110
13
Do Differential count . . .
. . .
. . .
21
14
Sputum and pus smears for
tubercle bacilli.
10
42
52
15
Specimens for lepra bacilli . . .
4
†7
11 † Wassermann's reaction positive in
two cases.
16
Discharge for gonococci . . .
3 1
18
49
Includes six indefinite.
17
Cholera (stools and vomit) . . .
22
40
62
18
Blood for isolation of B. typho-
sus in taurocholate water
medium.
‡ 1 ?
13
14
An organism giving most of the
reactions of B. typhosus.
19
Isolation of typhoid bacillus
from stools and urine.
ş 3
10
13
§ Two organisms which gave most of the
tests of enteric bacillus but not all.
20
Diphtheria . . .
21
35
56
21
Stools from ova and amœbæ . . .
║ 3
24
27 ║ Amœbæ were found.
22
Urine for chemical and micro-
scopical examinations.
. . .
. . .
12
23
Tumours . . .
. . .
. . .
4
24
Specimens for
spirochætes
(smears).
. . .
6
6
25
Specimens for
spirochætes
(fœtuses).
6
37
43
26
Water for cholera-like vibrics . . .
15
59
74
27
Water samples for chemical
analyses.
. . .
. . .
2 7 7
28
Water samples for bacterio-
logical examination.
. . .
. . .
617
501 samples from the Experimental
filters at Guindy.
29
Miscellaneous . . .
. . .
. . .
12
Total . . .
1,042
3,082
5 , 0 6 7
Plague—(a)
Human .—The number of specimens sent shows a slight decline
in comparison with last year and the positive results obtained, a very marked
decline. An increase, however, is seen in the number of useless specimens of
peripheral blood sent for this examination, the percentage rising from 10.7 nearly