bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Staphylococcus aureus type 83A as a cause of hospital cross-infection
Authors: Martin T. D. M.
Published: May 2009

1. A retrospective survey has been made to determine the amount of cross-infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus of one particular phage-type, 83 A, in four main hospitals of a provincial hospitals group, over a period of 2½ years.

2. The total number of strains considered was 1131. Of these, 776 were resistant to tetracycline and therefore the most likely to be of significance in cross-infection. Of these 776 strains, about one-third belonged to phage-type 83 A. In the hospital where 83 A strains were most prevalent, they formed about one-half of the tetra cycline-resistant strains; in that where they were least prevalent, about one- quarter.

The clinical sources of the tetracycline-resistant strains are described.

3. It was found that type 83 A strains were the most likely to show resistance to erythromycin, chloramphenicol or novobiocin.

Of a series of 214 type 83 A strains sensitivity tested against methicillin, using a disk-plate method, none was found to be resistant.

My thanks are due to Prof. R. E. O. Williams, St Mary' Hospital Medical School, for his helpful criticism of this paper and, in his previous capacity as Director of the Staphylococcus Reference Laboratory, Central Public Health Laboratory, Colindale, to him and his staff for supplying me with typing phages, and instructing me in their use. I should also like to thank Dr M. T. Parker, Director of the Cross Infection Reference Laboratory, Colindale, for a continued supply of these phages; the Hon. the Viscount Waverley, F.R.C.P., for allowing me to quote from the case history of a patient under his care; and Mr K. Allen, F.I.M.L.T., and other members of my technical staff for their assistance.
A biochemical subdivision of one phage type ofSalmonella typhimurium
Authors: Lewis M. J. , Stocker B. A. D.
Published: May 2009

A total of 1537 strains ofSalmonella typhimuriumbelonging to seven prevalent phage types were examined on solid media for their ability to ferment rhamnose, xylose and inositol, for colicine production and for nutritional requirements. Most of the strains in each phage type were almost completely homogeneous, especially in their sugar fermentation reactions. However, strains of phage type 1a/2 were not homogeneous, but could be assigned to one of four subgroups on the basis of ability to ferment inositol, inhibition of growth bymeso-tartrate and auxotrophy for nicotinic acid. The subdivision proved to have epidemiological value. The inhibition of growth bymeso-tartrate was observed on a denned medium containing citrate as the energy source. Inhibition did not occur if glucose, casein hydrolysate or aspartic acid were added to the medium.
An evaluation of strontium chloride, Rappaport and strontium selenite enrichment for the isolation of salmonellas from man, animals, meat products and abattoir effluents
Authors: Iveson J. B. , Mackay-Scollay E. M.
Published: May 2009

Strontium chloride enrichment broth was found to be comparable to Rappaport broth for the recovery of a wide range ofSalmonellaserotypes from man, animals, meat products and effluents. With the exception of cloacal samples from reptiles, both procedures were superior to selenite F.

The performance of strontium chloride M and selenite F enrichment was improved when effluent samples were incubated at 43° C.

Strontium chloride M and Rappaport enrichment were superior to selenite F for the isolation ofArizonaspecies from reptiles.

Strontium chloride B, strontium selenite and Rappaport broths were found suitable for the isolation of multipleSalmonellaserotypes from sea water contaminated with abattoir effluents. The strontium chloride B and strontium selenite enrichment media were superior to Rappaport broth when samples were incubated at 43° C.

Modified bismuth sulphite agar was found superior to Salmonella-Shigella agar as a solid subculture medium.

The investigation of a food poisoning outbreak due toSalmonella typhimuriumphage type 21 is reported.

The significance of the choice of sampling and isolation techniques in salmon-ellosis in man and animals is discussed.
Trimethoprim-resistance and its transferability in E. coli isolated from calves treated with trimethoprim-sulphadiazine: a two year study
Authors: Fleming M. P.
Published: May 2009

Regular examination of rectal swabs revealed the presence of very low numbers of trimethoprim resistant Escherichia coli in the faeces of 10 batches of calves successively reared in the same shed and none of these strains transferred trimethoprim resistance to E. coli K12. All the calves had received oral doses of 30 mg/kg day of trimethoprim-sulphadiazine for 5 consecutive days. From two subsequent batches of calves reared in the same shed, however, several isolations were made of E. coli with transmissible R factors determining trimethoprim and streptomycin resistance. Shortly before these strains were detected, isolations of E. coli with similar properties had been made from other calves, in a different shed, which had been fed much higher doses of trimethoprim-sulphadiazine. Serological evidence indicated that all the E. coli isolated carrying this R factor belonged to the same strain, which had apparently spread from the second shed to the first. No evidence of ‘in vivo’ transfer of the R factor to other enteric bacteria was obtained.
The incidence of antibiotic resistance and other characteristics amongst Escherichia coli strains causing fatal infection in chickens: the utilization of these characteristics to study the epidemiology of the infection
Authors: Heller E. D. , Smith H. Williams
Published: May 2009

Of 173 epidemiologically unrelated strains of Escherichia coli isolated from the pericardial sac of chickens that had died from infection with these organisms in England in 1972, approximately 1 year after the introduction of legislation forbidding the routine use of feeds containing ‘therapeutic’ antibiotics, 83·8% were resistant to sulphonamides, 31·2 % to tetracyclines, 20·8% to furazolidone, 18·5% to streptomycin, 2·9% to spectinomycin and 1·2% to ampicillin; none of the strains were resistant to chloramphenicol, neomycin, polymixin, trimethoprim or nalidixic acid. The sulphonamide resistance and possibly some of the resistance to other agents might have been the consequence of sulphonamides being exempted from the legislation. Much of the resistance, with the exception of that to furazolidone, was of the transferable type. Many strains possessed transfer factors in the absence of any known transferable characteristic. Colicine production was twice as common in the pathogenic strains as in a collection of strains isolated from the faeces of healthy chickens; about half of it was transferable.

By means of serology, antibiotic resistance and other markers, it was found that several different kinds of E. coli were usually incriminated in any one outbreak of E. coli infection in broiler chickens. Sometimes the same kinds of E. coli were found in outbreaks in consecutive crops of chickens on the same farm. New kinds, too, appeared to be brought in by replacement chickens.
Experimental pertussis infection in the marmoset: type specificity of active immunity
Authors: Stanbridge T. N. , Preston N. W.
Published: May 2009

Although we have failed to produce either paroxysmal cough or vomiting in rhesus monkeys, cynomolgus monkeys and marmosets, we have found in marmosets several features of pertussis infection similar to those seen in children with whooping cough: catarrh, persistence of colonization of the naso-pharynx with Bordetella pertussis for 4–11 weeks, change of serotype during colonization and inability of type 1 organisms to establish themselves as the predominant serotype.

As in children, we have found that intramuscular vaccine of type 1,2,3 was more effective than type 1,2 in preventing persistent infection with the currently prevalent serotypes 1,2,3 and 1,3. A mixed vaccine (1,2,3 and 1,3) seemed to produce agglutinin 3 in the serum more consistently than a pure type 1,2,3 vaccine. The duration of colonization, after naso-pharyngeal challenge, was greatly reduced in animals with agglutinin 3.

Local immunity, resulting from previous infection, was even more effective than a good vaccine in preventing subsequent persistent colonization. Marmosets may be useful in studying the possible development of aerosol pertussis vaccine for human use.
Studies on the pathogenicity ofAcholeplasma axanthumin swine
Authors: Stipkovits L. , Romváry J. , Nagy Z. , Bodon L. , Varga Lea
Published: May 2009

Acholeplasma axanthumsp. was isolated from the lung of swine with catarrhal pneumonia. Clinical symptoms of respiratory disease, gross and histological lesions of pneumonia, as well as serological response were produced by intranasal inoculation of ‘miniature pigs’ with the supernatant of lung suspension containingAcholeplasma axanthumand by a 48 hr. broth culture of the strain.

A similar picture of disease was observed in animals held in contact with the animals inoculated with untreated lung suspension.Acholeplasma axanthumwas isolated from the nasal cavity, lung and peribronchial lymph nodes 7–41 days after inoculation. No lesions were observed after inoculation of pigs with the supernatant of lung suspension pretreated with oxytetracycline or chloroform, and no successful isolation ofAcholeplasma axanthumcould be achieved after this treatment.
An outbreak of cholera in Australia due to food served in flight on an international aircraft
Authors: Sutton R. G. A.
Published: May 2009

An outbreak of cholera occurred in November 1972 among passengers on an aircraft that had flown from London to Sydney. The infection was confined to economy-class passengers and the available evidence indicates that it was due to a dish of hors d'œuvres served on the aircraft between Bahrain and Singapore. Although one person died, the infection was generally mild, and almost half of those infected were symptomless. There was a significant difference between the immunization status of persons with clinical illness and the immunization status of other passengers. Current cholera immunization appeared to play a significant role in preventing symptoms of the disease, but it did not prevent a person becoming a carrier of the organism.
Post-transfusion hepatitis in a London hospital: results of a two-year prospective study
Authors:   Medical Research Council Working Party
Published: May 2009

Seven hundred and sixty-eight patients were seen and tested at frequent intervals after transfusion of whole blood. Eight patients were judged to have developed icteric or anicteric post-transfusion viral hepatitis, an incidence of 1%. Five were icteric and four of these were hepatitis B antigen (HB Ag) positive; two of these four died. One of the fatal cases and one non-fatal HB Ag positive case had received HB Ag positive blood. Two other antigen-positive patients had received blood or plasma or both which had not been tested for antigen.

Thirty-five patients showed conspicuous or sustained elevations of alanine transaminase without clinical features of hepatitis.

Four were positive for HB Ag but had not received antigen positive blood.

Two who had received antigen positive blood remained antigen negative, but one developed hepatitis B antibody (HB Ab).

Two other patients were also transfused with plasma.

Five had serological evidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection accompanying the enzyme changes.

One patient who had received HB Ag positive blood remained antigen-negative and showed no abnormalities.

Five patients who became HB Ag positive, although they had been given antigen-negative blood, remained clinically and biochemically well.

Cytomegalovirus primary infection or reactivation occurred in another 32 patients; five had isolated, transient enzyme rises, one other was associated with a drug-induced focal liver necrosis and 26 showed no enzyme changes. Epstein–Barr virus infections, one of which was associated with a transient upset of enzyme activity, were detected in five patients. There were no cases of post-perfusion syndrome.
Antibody titres in women six to eight years after the administration of RA27/3 and Cendehill rubella vaccines
Authors: Macdonald Helen , Tobin J. O'H. , Cradock-Watson J. E. , Lomax Joyce , Bourne M. S.
Published: May 2009

Titres of haemagglutination-inhibiting antibody have been measured repeatedly in young women during a period of 6–8 years after the administration of RA27/3 and Cendehill attenuated rubella vaccines. Mean antibody titres were initially 217 after RA27/3 and 159 after Cendehill, but the difference diminished after the first year. Antibody titres were subsequently well maintained in both groups and did not reveal any need for regular revaccination. Mean titres in the Cendehill group were partly maintained by symptomless reinfection which was commoner after Cendehill than after RA27/3. Significant falls in titre were equally common after both vaccines, but low titres of 30 or less were more frequent in subjects who had received Cendehill.

Mean neutralizing antibody titres were initially 15·4 after RA27/3 vaccine and 9 after Cendehill. Titres remained higher after RA27/3 for 3 years, but the difference then diminished and became insignificant during the fifth year.

Revaccination of women with low antibody titres produced significant increases in 69% of subjects when standard RA27/3 vaccine was used; a special preparation of RA27/3 of higher potency produced a similar number of rises (70%) but elicited higher titres and might occasionally be useful for revaccinating women who are likely to come into contact with rubella. Challenge with RA27/3 vaccine produced weaker responses in women who had experienced natural infection than in those whose antibody was vaccine-induced.

Rises in antibody titre after revaccination consisted mainly of IgG, but traces of IgM antibody were detected in one vaccinee who had recently experienced natural reinfection and in 1 woman with naturally acquired antibody who had been challenged with high titre RA27/3 vaccine.
A study of the susceptibility of cattle to oral infection by salmonellas contained in raw sewage sludge
Authors: Hall G. A. , Jones P. W.
Published: May 2009

Raw sewage sludge, containing up to 105 naturally occurring salmonellas/l, was included in the diet of one group of cattle at the rate of 1 l/animal/day and in a second group at the rate of 1 l/animal/week. Sterilized sludge, to which had been added 105S. dublin/litre, was included in the diet of a third group of animals at the rate of 1 l/animal/day.

Salmonellas were isolated from all samples of raw sewage sludge but were not isolated from the faeces or carcasses of animals fed on the sludge. Salmonellas were isolated from the faeces of one animal and the carcasses of two animals fed on sterilized sludge to which S. dublin had been added.
The specific detection of foot-and-mouth disease virus whole particle antigen (140S) by enzyme labelled immunosorbent assay
Authors: Abu Elzein E. M. E. , Crowther J. R.
Published: May 2009

A solid-phase micro-enzyme-labelled immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using guinea pig antiserum against purified (140S) inactivated foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus has been usedin a sandwich technique to specifically measure 140S virus in the presence of 12S material.
The identification of gram-negative anaerobic bacilli isolated from clinical infections
Authors: Duerden B. I.
Published: May 2009

Gram-negative anaerobic bacilli isolated from specimens submitted to the routine diagnostic bacteriology laboratory and regarded as significant pathogens were identified by conventional bacteriological tests; 399 strains isolated from 356 specimens submitted from 332 patients were studied and most were readily identified by the results of a combined set of morphological, biochemical, tolerance and antibiotic disk resistance tests.B. fragilishas particular pathogenic potential and was the commonest species isolated, accounting for < 50% of strains. The next commonest wasB. asaccharolyticuswith 55 strains, and 16 other species or groups were represented by smaller numbers. Many (68%) were from infections related to the gastro-intestinal tract, but there were significant numbers from infections of the male and female genito-urinary tracts, the head, neck and central nervous system and from a variety of soft tissue infections. Most infections were mixed, and a pure culture of aBacteroidessp. was obtained from only 26% of infections; two or more strains ofBacteroideswere recovered from 55 infections. The specific identification ofBacteroidesmay help the bacteriologist to judge the significance of laboratory findings, influence the patient's management and prognosis and help determine the source of infection.
Swine vesicular disease: pathways of infection
Authors: Mann J. A. , Hutchings G. H.
Published: May 2009

The pathways of infection in swine vesicular disease have been studied by (i) an estimation of the amounts of virus required to produce infection by different artificial inoculation procedures; (ii) the distribution and amounts of virus in various tissues of pigs killed at intervals after contact infection; (iii) an investigation of the susceptibility to virus infection of pig tissue explants.

The results show that pigs can be infected by a number of pathways and that the skin, as the most susceptible tissue, is probably the most frequent route of infection.
Salmonella isolation with Rappaport's medium after pre-enrichment in buffered peptone water using a series of inoculum ratios
Authors: Harvey R. W. S. , Price T. H.
Published: May 2009

The ability of malachite green/magnesium chloride broth (Rappaport's medium) to isolate salmonellas from 25 ml quantities of sewage-polluted natural water was investigated. Samples were first pre-enriched in buffered peptone water and varying volumes of inoculum from the pre-enrichment culture were inoculated into Rappaport's broth. Inoculum ratios in the range 1:2000 to 1:10 were examined. The inoculum ratio denotes the ratio of the volume of inoculum to the volume of fluid medium into which it is introduced. Optimum results were obtained with the 1:2000 ratio, although the salmonella isolation rate was only slightly less with the 1:500 and 1:100 ratios. The 1:2000 inoculum ratio was obtained with a graduated loop holding approximately 0·005 ml of fluid. Use of a loop for inoculation has advantages in speed of performance and safety of manipulation.
Feeding and breeding of laboratory animals: XIV. Size of Breeding Group and Production in Mice
Authors: Bruce H. M.
Published: May 2009

1. The production of weaned young from pairs or groups of three, four and five mice, each containing one male, has been compared.

2. For long-term large-scale production, small breeding groups of one male with two females are proposed.

I should like to thank Dr A. S. Parkes, F.R.S., for much helpful criticism, and Dr Walter Perry for the statistical tests.
A new type of Salmonella (S. ballerup) with Vi-antigen
Authors: Kauffmann F. , Møller Ebba
Published: May 2009

1. A description is given of a new Salmonella type (S. ballerup) with Vi-antigen which was probably the cause of an attack of gastro-enteritis in man.

2. S. ballerup contains a new O- and a new H-antigen, so that the antigenic formula reads XXIX.[Vi].Z14. There is also a slight O-antigen relationship with the XIX-antigen of S. senftenberg.

3. Like S. typhi, S. ballerup has the V-W change of form, as colonies occur with or without Vi-antigen; of these the V forms are much more stable than the W forms. The V forms are O-inagglutinable.

4. As with S. typhi, the V and W forms are already distinguishable macroscopically on agar plates, the V forms being opaque, whereas the W forms are translucent.

5. S. ballerup's Vi-antigen is serologically identical with S. typhi and S. paratyphi C's Vi-antigen.

6. By means of the V form of S. ballerup it is easy to demonstrate Vi- agglutinin in typhoid sera, as there is no need to fear disturbances from O- and H-antibodies.

7. By means of a V form vaccine of S. ballerup mice can be immunized actively against a lethal infection with the typhoid V form.

8. The mouse pathogenity of S. ballerup is very low. There is no distinct difference in the pathogenity of the V and W forms of S. ballerup.
Studies in the Nutrition of Birds
Authors: Grey Egerton Charles
Published: May 2009

Experiments begun in 1925 in Egypt led the writer quickly to realise that comparable results in nutrition studies upon pigeons could only be obtained by a careful choice of the breed. It was found that lightly coloured birds and especially white bids were extremely sensitive to climatic change or to the harmful effects on an inadequate diet.
The Decline in Infant Mortality
Authors: McKinlay Peter L.
Published: May 2009

Although many measures which may influence the mortality of infants have within recent years come into operation, it is convenient and permissible to classify these into one or other of two broad categories. In the first place, many general measures intended to ameliorate the life and health of the people at all ages must be taken into consideration. Here we have such improvements as have been effected or attempted in the unhealthy conditions of urban life, in particular, improved housing, improved domestic and municipal sanitation, control of the milk supply, etc. The manner in which these may affect the health of infancy is obvious and need not be enlarged upon. In the second instance, we have to consider the effects of those measures which have been specially directed to the infant and the pregnant or nursing mother. From a small beginning in private philanthropic work has now sprung a vast national machinery of maternity and child welfare, a scheme which resolves itself into component parts directed towards improvements in the conditions affecting the three special periods of infant life, the ante-natal, natal and postnatal.
On the Errors Involved in the Determination of Cooling Powers and Air Velocities with a Kata-Thermometer
Authors: Cockerell O. J.
Published: May 2009

During the experimental comparison of different types of hot-water heating systems in a school at Easter 1934 about a thousand kata readings were taken. These were taken mostly in pairs, one immediately after the other, and a third reading was taken only when the first two differed by more than about 10 per cent.
A Contribution to the Etiology of Beri-Beri
Authors: Kajiura S. , Rosenheim O.
Published: May 2009

No hypothesis hitherto advanced with regard to the origin of Beri–Beri, has up till now found sufficient experimental confirmation to warrant its general acceptance. This applies especially to the conception of the disease as due to the presence of bacteriaor parasites in the blood, further to the infection theory as well as to the miasmatic theory1.
Plague in South Africa: Perpetuation and Spread of Infection by Wild Rodents
Authors: Mitchell J. Alexander
Published: May 2009

The infection of plague was originally introduced into South Africa during the Anglo-Boer War, 1900–1902, by rats from vessels with cargoes of forage from infected South American ports. During this period serious outbreaks occurred in Cape Town, port Elizabeth, East London and other centres in the Cape Province, and also at Durban and Maritzburg.
The daily water consumption of adults
Authors: Magee H. E.
Published: May 2009

The consumption of water and milk in the form of beverages, fluid foods and foods to which water or milk was added in cooking was determined over a period of a week in early spring in two Public Assistance Institutions containing 166 adults and 3 children aged 9–13 years. The results obtained are summarized in Table II. The consumption of water in the form of solid foods could not be estimated directly, but was calculated from the results obtained from quantitative dietary studies of ten working-class families whose diet was adequate. The intake of water in solid food was calculated as 0·97 pint for males and 0·80 pint for females per head daily. Water formed in oxidation was assumed to be 300 c.c. per head daily for men and 250 c.c. for women. The total water consumed and formed in the body was therefore probably in the region of Men 4·93 pints (2799 c.c.) per head daily, Women 5·08 pints (2885 c.c.) per head daily.

The amounts of water lost by the kidneys, bowel, skin and lungs are tentatively suggested and tables of water balance are put forward as approximations to the water requirements and exchanges of normal people. The water supplies of the institutions are soft and the amounts of calcium consumed in water were very small and are probably not of much nutritional significance. Hard waters are, however, probably of some importance as sources of calcium, especially when the diet otherwise is poor in this mineral.

The amounts of milk consumed per head daily were in excess of 0·5 pint and the amount of calcium consumed in the form of milk amounted to more than half the standard requirement for adults. The calcium intake in both institutions was probably adequate.
An international experiment on the Widal-reaction
Authors: Gardner A. D.
Published: May 2009

Accuracy of titration may be taken as a measure of the reliability of the methods and work of a laboratory.

With such a small number of titrations as four, a convincing mean, representing the most probable true titre, is hard to calculate. A fairly close approximation, however, is possible in the form of the geometrical mean.

It is also possible to correct for constant local factors which cause the titrations of a given laboratory to run above or below the mean. By all methods of titration a surprisingly large proportion of large errors are recorded.

The most consistent results, with the smallest proportion of large errors, are obtained by the prearranged standard method with a single standardized suspension. The H titres are rather more consistent than the O; probably because H agglutination is easier than O to read correctly.

Local methods give greater differences than the agreed (standard) method. Since the H suspensions used in one laboratory were also sensitive to O agglutination the supposed H titres are unreal, and cannot be treated statistically.

Local O methods give a considerably greater range of error than the standard method, as is shown by a comparison of the mean errors of Tables II and IV, and by the percentages of errors over and under 100 per cent given in Table VI.

The full titres (H or O or both) of the serums measured by local routine Widal methods, with living suspensions in two laboratories and killed ones in the other two, show a considerably greater proportion of large differences than are shown by the titrations with the standard method. They do not, however, differ more widely than the titres obtained with local O suspensions.

The results of the laboratories that use killed H and O suspensions in routine work are more consistent and accurate than those of the laboratories that use living suspensions.

It is suggested that gross technical mistakes are a commoner cause of error than is usually supposed. Errors of dilution of the serums and other technical variations must also be responsible for a part of the very wide range of differences observed.

The use of old strains, tending to roughness, is to be avoided.
On a pleuropneumonia-like organism in lung lesions of rats, with notes on the clinical and pathological features of the underlying condition
Authors: Klieneberger Emmy , Steabben Dorothy B
Published: May 2009

1. A pleuropneumonia-like organism resemblingL1in all characteristic features has been isolated from a well-known lung condition of rats of hitherto obscure etiology in seventeen out of nineteen cases.

2. Morphological elements which presumably initiate growth in culture have been demonstrated microscopically in the lesions.

3.Streptobacillus moniliformis(i.e.L1plusStreptobacillus) is a frequent inhabitant of the nasopharynx of rats with lung lesions; it may secondarily invade the lungs as it is found in severe cases together with theL1organism.

4. An account is presented of the clinical and pathological features of the underlying condition with which the newly discovered bacteriological findings are associated.

5. The precise role played by theL1organism in the pathogenesis of the lung lesions in rats has still to be established and further experiments with this end in view are in progress.
Some New Observations on the Developmental Cycle of the Organism of Bovine Pleuropneumonia and Related Microbes
Authors: Klieneberger Emmy , Smiles J.
Published: May 2009

A study of the growth phases of pleuropneumoma has been carried out by two new methods: (1) a new fixing and staining technique, (2) a new dark-ground method. The results obtained by the two methods are in good agreement, and the life cycle of the organism of bovine pleuropneumoma and related microbes as revealed by means of both methods has been described.
Bacteriology of fresh water: III. The types of bacteria present in lakes and streams and their relationship to the bacterial flora of soil
Authors: Taylor C. B.
Published: May 2009

1. Approximately 800 cultures of bacteria have been isolated from samples of water taken from lakes and from some of their inflowing waters. The morphology and Gram-staining reaction of the cultures have been determined together with the reactions in nutrient gelatin, dextrose broth, nitrate broth, and litmus milk.

2. Many organisms grew poorly on artificial media, and were unable to grow in either dextrose or nitrate broth. In general the cultures showed weak physiological activity, particularly in litmus milk and in dextrose, though gelatin liquefaction was fairly common. Colonies produced on solid media were frequently pigmented, shades of yellow being particularly common. A significant feature was that most of the bacteria (95%) were rod-shaped, and though many cultures showed considerable variation in cell length and were consequently difficult to classify, short rods were in general more prevalent than long. Coccus forms made up less than 1 % of the toal number considered.

3. When the cultures were grouped according to their biochemical activities no consistent differences were observed between the types from near the surface and from near the bottom of a lake, nor between the lake and the inflow, but differences were observed in samples taken from the same lake on different occasions. Some types were common to both the lake and the inflows, while others occurred in only one of those habitats. Some types were found both near the surface of the lake and near the bottom, whilst others were confined to one depth.

4. A comparison of the types of bacteria isolated from waters with those found by other workers in soils shows that the main difference in the bacterial flora is the absence in water of the Gram-positive pleomorphic forms of the generaMycobacteriumandCorynebacteriumand ofBact. globiformeConn.;, all of which are common in soils of very widely different agricultural types.

5. In the discussion it is pointed out that, in common with soil types bacteria isolated from water cannot be adequately classified by the usual tests in carbohydrates; in dextrose broth, for instance, the reaction is often only a slight change inpH value.
The preservation of Vi antigen in T.A.B.C. vaccine: With a note on combined active immunization with T.A.B.C. vaccine in tetanus formol-toxoid
Authors: Rainsford S. G.
Published: May 2009

1. V strains of Bact. typhosum can be sterilized by means of merthiolate or colloidal silver without destructive effect on either the Vi or O antigens.

2. Suspensions in physiological saline sterilized and preserved by the addition of either merthiolate or silver retain their property of stimulating Vi antibody formation in the rabbit for at least one year if stored at 0–2° C, but when stored at 23–25° C. this property is lost after 4 months' storage.

3. The Vi antibody-stimulating property of a merthiolate-killed and preserved suspension in physiological saline is almost completely destroyed by an exposure of 5 days at 37° C. or 4 hr. at 60° C.

4. Bact. typhosum bacilli killed with merthiolate or alcohol, and dried with acetone, show no loss of Vi antigen when stored in the dry state for 1 year at 23–25° C, or after 3 months at 37° C.

5. Suspensions sterilized and preserved with merthiolate in 32% saline will withstand 50 days' storage at 37° C, or 7 months at 23–25° C, without significant loss of their Vi antibody-stimulating properties.

6. Suspensions in 32% saline can be sterilized by an exposure to 60° C. for 2 hr., and even after 4 hr. exposure at this temperature, show no loss of Vi antigen content.

7. Suspensions killed by merthiolate or alcohol, and preserved by the addition of 25% alcohol in physiological saline, failed to stimulate Vi antibody formation in the rabbit after being stored for 20 days at 37° C.

8. The application of these findings to the production of a stable T.A.B.C. vaccine of enhanced immunological qualities is discussed.

9. The effect of mixing Bact. typhosum with tetanus formol-toxoid has been examined, and the advisability of employing heat-killed-phenolized vaccine mixed with tetanus formol-toxoid for combined immunization against tetanus and typhoid infections is discussed.

10. A suggested technique for the preparation, supply, and administration of two new types of T.A.B.C. vaccine is described.
Investigations on the typing of staphylococci by means of bacteriophage I. The origin and nature of lysogenic strains
Authors: Smith H. Williams
Published: May 2009

1. Investigations have been carried out on the bacteriophage method of typing staphylococci developed by Wilson & Atkinson (1945).

2. Strains previously considered as belonging to one phage type, type 42D, or as untypeable, were classified into a number of types by the use of additional phages. This further classification was rendered possible by the acquired phage resistance of some of the strains. All the resistant strains were lysogenic.

3. It was possible to produce a resistant variant of a strain to two phages. Some of these resistant variants carried both phages. Others could be demonstrated to be carrying only one phage.
Formation of cyanogen chloride during chlorination of certain liquids. Toxicity of such liquids to fish
Authors: Allen L. A. , Blezard N. , Wheatland A. B.
Published: May 2009

Certain sewage effluents have been found (Allen, Blezard, and Wheatland, 1946) to become highly toxic when treated with doses of chlorine much smaller than are required to give residual chlorine detectable by the ortho-tolidine test. Evidence from laboratory tests suggested that this toxicity was mainly due to a compound formed by interaction of the chlorine with small quantities of thiocyanate derived initially from gas liquor admitted to the sewage and surviving treatment at the sewage works. Key & Etheridge (1934) has shown that oxidation of the thiocyanate in a percolating filter or an activated-sludge plant, depends on the establishment of the necessary bacterial flora, and that a sudden increase in the concentration of thiocyanate in the sewage may result in a proportion of it being discharged in the effluent. Admission of gas liquor to sewage is common practice, and chlorination of such effluents would have serious effects on the living organisms, including fish, in surface waters to which they were discharged. Further work has revealed the nature of the compound responsible for toxicity, and has established the relation between toxicity and concentration of the substance in solution. An experimental study has been made of conditions affecting its formation during chlorination and of means of removing it from solution.
The type specificity ofHaemophilus pertussis
Authors: Ungar J. , Muggleton P. W. , Stevens W. K.
Published: May 2009

1. One hundred and eighty-seven freshly isolated strains ofHaemophilus pertussis, together with ten laboratory strains and eleven strains ofH. parapertussiswere submitted to tests of their morphological, biochemical and antigenic properties in relation to their virulence to mice.

2. The naturally occurringH. pertussisstrains form a single antigenic type differing from that of the attenuated laboratory strains.

3.H. parapertussisforms, as previously claimed, a distinctive type with characteristic properties closely related toH. pertussis.

Our thanks are due to Col. H. J. Bensted, Prof. J. W. McLeod and Drs A. Beck, D. G. Evans, G. Eldering, J. Marks, M. T. Parker, M. Pittman and H. Proom for supplying strains used in this investigation.
Studies on poliomyelitis virus: II. The immunogenic potency of live and inactivated virus in guinea-pigs
Authors: Hampton J. W. F. , Polson A. , Selzer Golda
Published: May 2009

The antigenic response of guinea-pigs to live poliomyelitis viruses of all three types has been studied and the loss of antigenicity involved in inactivation by formaldehyde and by ultra-violet light have been determined.

We wish to acknowledge the debt we owe to the late Prof. M. van den Ende for his great help and interest in this work, and we are grateful for the assistance received from Dr H. Malherbe and Ruth Harwin in carrying out many of the titrations, and from Dr T. Mead for synthesizing some 1:4-diphenylbutadiene for use as a filter for ultra-violet light.

We also have to thank G. S. Turner, T. Norcott, Doreen Deeks and Margaret Pakes for their technical help.
The eclipse phase of vaccinia virus growing in chick embryo cell monolayers and some technical procedures which affect its demonstration
Authors: Postlethwaite R. , Maitland H. B.
Published: May 2009

1. When chick embryo cell monolayers were infected with ultrasonically treated elementary body suspension by a short period of adsorption some of the adsorbed virus lost infectivity in a few minutes. This was followed by a more gradual loss during incubation of the cultures. The lowest point was reached at 4–6 hr. followed by a rise in titre due to production of new virus at 7–8 hr. The quantitative assessment of these changes is discussed.

2. In such cultures, titration of intact and disintegrated cells after incubation for 4–5 hr., indicated an eclipse phase by showing an absence of infective virus in cells which ultimately produced it. The process of eclipse continued for several hours. With inoculum that had not been subjected to ultrasonic treatment it was not possible to show this by infecting HeLa cell monolayers.

3. Ultrasonically treated inoculum, compared with a similar, but untreated inoculum, had a three to flvefold higher titre. The virus units in it were more uniformly capable of infecting cells. After its adsorption to monolayers a rapid loss of some infective virus occurred within a few minutes which was not demonstrable with untreated inoculum. During incubation of monolayers infected with treated inoculum the loss of infectivity was faster, there was a more rapid production of new virus and a greater yield. The nature of the changes in the virus which were brought about by ultrasonic treatment have not been explained, but the use of such an inoculum markedly affected the results of experiments.

4. Treatment of infected monolayers with trypsin or EDTA caused the cells to shed as much as half their virus. This virus would not be released spontaneously into the medium or removed from monolayers by washing. This applied to all periods of incubation up to 24 hr. or more when marked increase of virus had occurred.

5. The disintegration of infected cells by ultrasonic treatment was efficient in releasing infective virus from them, although it was not possible to be certain all the virus in the cells was rendered detectable by this technique.

6. The effect of some technical procedures on the interpretation of results is discussed.
An outbreak of salmonella food poisoning attributed to bakers' confectionery
Authors: Harvey R. W. S. , Price T. H. , Davis A. R. , Morley-Davis R. B.
Published: May 2009

1. An outbreak of food poisoning due to S. typhimurium and S. thompson is described.

2. These same two serotypes were found in trifle eaten by the victims.

3. S. typhimurium was found in the stools of four members of the bakery staff and in the stool of one member of the grocery staff handling luncheon meat eaten by those affected.

4. S. typhimurium was isolated from drains in the bakery.

5. The phage-type of S. typhimurium found in the food handlers, drains, trifle and victims of the outbreak was the same.

6. The phage-type of S. thompson found in the trifle was identical with that found in the victims of the outbreak.

7. The phage-type of both salmonellae suggested an egg product source.

8. It is surprising how infrequent these outbreaks are, having regard to the very frequent opportunity for the contamination of confectionery products in bake-houses.
A precipitin test for acute poliomyelitis and for assessing antibody response to oral poliovaccine
Authors: Selzer Golda , Butchart Margaret
Published: May 2009

A description is given of a precipitin test, using potent non-infectious antigens, which can be performed in laboratories not specializing in virology. Trial of the method as a diagnostic procedure gave positive results in 100% of a series of 50 patients with acute poliomyelitis. Precipitation lines, almost always sharply defined and intense, were obtained in 89% of 33 sera within 3–8 days of onset of acute poliomyelitis and in all sera after the 8th day. In positive cases precipitation bands usually appeared within 24 hr. after starting the test. In all instances precipitation was homotypic with the type virus isolated from stools. Double bands appeared in very recent cases but only with homotypic precipitins. Single heterotypic lines appeared in 12 cases due to previous infection or perhaps due to infection by virus strains with common antigens. All control patients with nervous system disease other than poliomyelitis or with infection by Coxsackie or ECHO viruses and all control test animals gave negative results. Of 240 poorcommunity schoolchildren who had taken monovalent oral poliovaccine 4½ months previously, 80% had precipitins for Type 1, but less than 5% showed marked reactions. The sera from the remainder gave only weakly positive results. Contrasting with transience of precipitins, neutralizing antibodies persisted in nearly 100% of children tested.

The precipitin test was used to study antibody response to ingestion of trivalent oral vaccine (prepared and issued by the Poliomyelitis Research Foundation, Johannesburg). More than half (54 %) of 90 students who received the vaccine had positive precipitin-test results; most often these results appeared during the 2nd week after ingestion. In this positive group 54 % showed multiplication of at least two types and 12 % showed multiplication of all three types poliovirus.
Comparative studies on Salmonella typhi grown in vivo and in vitro III. The immunizing potencies of acetone-killed vaccines prepared from in vivo and in vitro grown bacteria and the immunizing potency of substances isolated from infected organs
Authors: Olitzki A. L. , Godinger Dina
Published: May 2009

1. Salmonella typhi, strain Ty2, grown in vivo and employed as acetone-dried vaccine possessed a higher immunizing potency than the descendants of the same parent strain grown in vitro and employed as vaccine.

2. When 2 × 108in vitro-grown bacteria were employed as challenge, the immunizing effects of both types of vaccine were more marked than after administration of 2 × 108in vivo-grown bacteria as challenge.

3. The higher potency of the in vivo-grown vaccine was apparent in all experiments, whether the challenge strain was grown in vivo or in vitro.

4. Immunogenic substances were isolated from infected organs of mice and guinea-pigs, and an immunogenic substance from the peritoneal fluid of the infected guinea-pigs was concentrated by precipitation with ethanol.
Disinfection of woollen blanket
Authors: Crewther W. G , McQuade A. B
Published: May 2009

The efficiencies of bactericides in destroying bacteria on woollen blanket were investigated on a laboratory scale. The bactericides were not effective when tested with new blanket; this low efficiency was found to be related to the rapid adsorption of the bactericides by the wool. Pretreatment of the wool with concentrated solutions of bactericides depressed the rate of depletion of the bactericides from subsequent washing liquors with bactericides at customary concentrations, and led to more satisfactory rates of kill (inactivation factors about 106).

The test organisms,Staphylococcus aureusandEscherichia coli, were applied to the blanket as a powder, and the relative densities of bacteria on the blanket were determined using a procedure based on maceration of the fabric. The bactericides, 4-chloro-3, 5-xylenol (P.C.M.X.), cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (C.T.A.B.) and bis-(4-chlorophenyl diguanido)-hexane diacetate (chlorhexidine diacetate) were tested in the presence of appropriate detergents.

Cultures were kindly supplied by Dr Hildred Butler of the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne.
Survival of wound pathogens under different environmental conditions
Authors: Pettit Felicity , Lowbury E. J. L.
Published: May 2009

Suspensions of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella aerogenes and micrococci were tested for survival on drying and after drying in the atmosphere. The proportion of Gram-negative bacilli that died during drying was greater than that of the Gram-positive cocci, but survival after drying was similar in the two groups of organisms. There were considerable differences in the death-rates on drying of different strains of bacteria, which were consistent on replicate sampling.

A suspension of Ps. aeruginosa prepared from cells which had survived one drying showed a considerably higher proportion of survivors on a second drying; suspensions prepared from subcultures of the dried cells, however, showed a death-rate on drying which was similar to that of the original culture.

Strains of Ps. aeruginosa isolated from floor dust showed a significantly higher proportion of survivors immediately after drying than strains from patients, but the proportion of survivors after 24 hr. of exposure to the atmosphere was approximately the same in the two groups.

Tests were made for survival of Ps. aeruginosa and Staph. aureus in deionized water, tap water, physiological saline and Ringer's solution. In deionized water, Ps. aeruginosa showed a rapid initial loss but some survival for several weeks; Staph. aureus, on the other hand, showed an initial increase in numbers but no survivors after 48 hr. In Ringer's solution all strains of Ps. aeruginosa multiplied rapidly and survived for many weeks; Staph. aureus died rapidly and no strain could be detected after 4 days.

We are grateful to Dr M. T. Parker and Mrs E. Asheshov for the typing of strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
The extracellular antigens of Micropolyspora faeni: their significance in farmer's lung disease
Authors: Fletcher S. M. , Rondle C. J. M. , Murray I. G.
Published: May 2009

A serological analysis of the extracellular antigens of Micropolyspora faeni by immunodiffusion with a combination of sera revealed 29 individual antigens. A survey was made of the incidence of precipitins to the antigens in sera from patients with clinical farmer's lung disease (FLD) and other respiratory diseases. Precipitating antibody was found in 75 % of farmer's lung cases and in 20 % of other cases who had been exposed to the same environment. More precipitin reactions were seen in sera from severe forms of FLD than from milder forms. The distribution of precipitins to individual antigens was not significantly affected by severity of disease.

Most of the patients with precipitins to M. faeni, but without the symptoms of FLD, were suffering from mild or moderate symptoms of other respiratory diseases with a history of chronic onset of symptoms. The distribution of precipitins to individual antigens in this group was similar to that in clinical FLD patients but the incidence was considerably lower.

The significance of these results is discussed.