CORRELATIONS BETWEEN HEMORRHAGIC SEPTICEMIA ORGANISMS

A number of investigations with regard to correlations usually assumed to exist between hemorrhagic septicemia organisms has hitherto been published, but it is at present yet impossible to differenciate them with distinction, as the results obtained by those who have worked with the organisms are not in agreement.Employing B. bubalisepticus, B. suisepticus, B. avisepticus and B. bovisepticus I have made some experiments in connection with these problems and came to the following conclusions:1. Morphology, growth on ordinary culture media, indol production, hemolytic property, bacteriolysis in bile, fermentation test etc. showed no satisfactory evidence as to their identification.2. No distinction could be obtained from their pathogenicity for mice, rats, guinea-pigs, rabbits and pigeons inoculated or fed with the organisms and also from the postmortem appearances of the experimental animals.3. Cross agglutination test employing an immune serum obtained from the rabbit inoculated with dead organisms showed that the correlation between the organisms is highly complicated and no specificity could be distinguished in any of them. Agglutinin absorption test gave likewise no satisfactory results, although when employed an immune serum from the guinea-pig inoculated with living organisms the occurence of group reactions was less remarkable and consequently in a certain organisms specificity could be distinguished. Complement fixation test with those sera showed there are so many group reactions that no specificity could be found in any of the organisms. If, however, the complement fixation titres were taken into consideration the organisms could be specified in more or less noticeable degree, but not satisfactory enough for the identfication of them.4. Active and passive animal protection tests with mice showed in no case so markedly a specificity as to enable us to identify the organisms.Briefly speaking, it may be assumed that some of hemorrha- gic septicemia organisms may have their specificity, but it is quite impossible to differenciate them by virtue of the specificity which is generally so undistinguished.