Abstract of report on the origin and spread of typhoid fever in U. S. military camps during the Spanish War of 1898 / by Walter Reed, Victor C. Vaughan and Edward O. Shakespeare.
- Walter Reed
- Date:
- 1900
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Abstract of report on the origin and spread of typhoid fever in U. S. military camps during the Spanish War of 1898 / by Walter Reed, Victor C. Vaughan and Edward O. Shakespeare. Source: Wellcome Collection.
226/270 page 200
![investigation. Theiv? are many problems j'et to be solved. We will refer to only a few of these at this time. The distinction betwetm the typhoid bacillus and the colon bacterium is not well defined. It is easj’^ enough to distinguish between a typical colon Ijacillus and a tj'pical t3’^phoid bacillus. The former (coagulates milk, ferments glu- cose or lactose, and produces indol by its growth in ordinarj- nutrient media. The typical typhoid bacillus does none of the above-men- tioned things, but there are germs which ferment glucose and lactose more or less energetically, but do not coagulate milk or produce indol. There are others which show traces of indol in their culture growths, bat do not coagulate milk or ferment glucose. In other words, there are micro-organisms which at present we can not place in either the colon or the tyifiioid group, and the relation of these to typhoid fever has not as 3et been determined. We are in the habit of designating these bacteria as typhoid-like bacilli. The}' have been found in water supposed to be the cause of epidemics of tj'phoid fever. In a few instances they have been obtained from the blood during life and the spleen after death in eases which cliniealty could not be distin- guished from typhoid fever. Some of them agglutinate more or less markedly in blood serum obtained from individuals suffering from typhoid fever. Many additional observations must be made before we can determine with certainty the proper classification of these organisms. In this connection we maj’^ state that in our investigation of typhoid fever in the national encampments of 1898 we found no reason for supposing that the colon bacillus is ever transformed into the typlioid bacillus. This subject will receive additional attention later. Tlie natural distribution of the tjq3hoid bacillus is another subject needing careful investigation. Appareutty trustworth}* bacteriolo- gists have reported the finding of this micro-organism in the most unexpected places. It has been detected in the soil of localities far removed from the habitations of man and has been isolated from drinking water supposed to be free from contamination. Further- more, its presence has been reported in the stools of health}- pei*sons as well as in those suffering from dysentery and simple diarrhea. It must remain for future studies to decide upon the reliability of these reported findings and to attach to them theii- proper significance should they be found to be true. THE ELIMINATION OF THE BACILLUS FROM THE BODY. It is important in a study of the etiology of typhoid fever to ascer- tain by what avenues the specific micro-organism leaves the body of the infected individual. Tlie exhaled air from the lungs of the typhoid-fever subject is germ free, as it probably is in all infectious disimses. There is therefore no ])ossibility of this disease l)eing spread by moans of th(‘ air cxlmlod from the lungs. This statement](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28063223_0226.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
