Reports and papers on cholera in England in 1893 / with an introduction by the Medical Officer of the Local Government Board.
- Great Britain. Local Government Board
- Date:
- 1894
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Reports and papers on cholera in England in 1893 / with an introduction by the Medical Officer of the Local Government Board. Source: Wellcome Collection.
358/372 page 234
![App. 0. On an Outbreak of DiarrhoBiil Illness at Greenwich Workhouse, Oct. 1898; by Dr. Bulstrode. 20°C. In motility, in the very great differences in length of these bacilli —^length varying between short ovals and long threads—and in their rapid liquefaction of the gelatine, the Greenwich bacillus shows a very close resemblance to that well known common putrefactive microbe proteus vulgaris. But on closer com]3ari80U it is found that this Greenwich bacillus difiers from the proteus in several cultural respects as follows :— (a) Cultures of proteus have a malodorous putrefactive smell, those of the Greenwich bacillus have not. (h) Liquefaction of the gelatine by the proteus organism is less rapid than by the Greenwich bacillus; moreover the aspect of the colonies in gelatine plates is different in the two cases. (c) The proteus organism forms, in broth cultures at 37°C., nebulous fluffy masses ; the Greenwich bacillus does not. (d) The proteus organism forms on agar cultures lai-ge circular opaque colonies which are white in reflected light; whereas the Greenwich bacillus forms translucent small round colonies, grey in reflected light. (e) On potato the Greenwich bacillus forms both at 20°C. and at 37°C. a thick yellowish layer, whereas the proteus forms a colourless layer under the same conditions. (/) The Greenwich bacillus coagulates milk at 37°C. within 48 hours ; the proteus does not coagulate milk. Certain viscera—liver, spleen, and kidney—of several of the Greenwich fatal cases were, after hardening, examined microsco]Ucally in sections. A few bacilli, in siz.e and appearance like those of the intestine described above, were found in the spleen. Tn the liver none were discovered ; but the liver cells in many parts were noted to be in a state of fatty degenera- tion. In the kidney clumps and streaks of these bacilli were found in the connective tissue between the cortical and medullary portion, extending thence into both cortex and medulla ; few of them, however, could be seen in the Malpighian corpuscles of the cortex. These bacilli stained well by Gram's method, and thereby are further distinguishable from the proteus vulgaris. From the facts that T have recorded, it is to bo inferred that the Greenwich bacillus is not the proteus vulgaris, although without doubt it belongs to the same group. There are indeed, several species, or at least varieties, in the proteus group, some of them having distinct pathogenic action on the human subject. Thus Bordoni IJffreduzzi has described* a proteus hominis of pathogenic character, which was derived from rags and which produced in ragsorters a fatal disease chiefly characterised by pneumonic symptoms; and I myself have described in connexion with'the Carlisle meat poisoning cases an organism closely resembling the proteus vulgaris.f As regards the pathogenicity of the Greenwich bacillus, I find that subcutaocous injection ol guinea-pigs with material from cultui-es of the microbe, produces local cedematous swellings with general constitutional disturbance, the animals soon becoming quiet and refusing to feed. After two to three days the local swelling diminishes in size and becomes firmer, the constitutional disturbance passes rapidly off, and by the end of a week all traces of the swelling have disappeared. On tame mice the bacillus acts virulently when injected subcutaneously. These animals die within 22 hours, and present about the seat of inocula- tion an extensive cedematous swelling, in which the bacilli are found in great crowds and whence they are easily recovered by cultivation. The intestines are much congested, relaxed, and full of mucus, which is some- times bloodstained : the spleen is enlarged and dark in colour ; the liver, kidneys, and lungs are congested. Cultivations made of a droplet of the heart's blood of the experimental mouse yield an abundance of the colonies of the bacillus. On feeding mice with cultivations (mixed with bread and milk) no result was produced. In its virulence on subcutaneous inoculation of small doses into mice, the Greenwich bacillus differs from the proteus vulgaris, since small doses of proteus culture injected subcutaneously into these animals do not produce any such distinct or fatal result. ^ ^ • Zeitschr. f. Hygieno, vol. .3. . „ j j. ,oon on r> oo-i t Report of tlie Medical Officer of Looal Government Board for 1880-»U, p. -as.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b20395899_0358.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
