Reports of the Commission appointed by the Admiralty, the War Office, and the civil government of Malta, for the investigation of Mediterranean fever / under the supervision of an advisory committee of the Royal Society.

  • Great Britain. Admiralty. Commission for the Investigation of Mediterranean Fever.
Date:
1905-7
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Reports of the Commission appointed by the Admiralty, the War Office, and the civil government of Malta, for the investigation of Mediterranean fever / under the supervision of an advisory committee of the Royal Society. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    Experiment VII. The rapid disappearance of the M. melitensis from the soil saturated with water suggested that an attempt should be made to determine the duration of life of the M. melitensis in sterile water. The whole of a recent growth from an agar slope was diffused in 50 c.c. of sterile tap-water, representing an exceedingly gross pollution. The flask was kept in the laboratory cupboard, and every day 1 c.c. was plated on nutrose agar. The Micrococcus was readily isolated for 6 days, but on the 7th and 13th days it could not be detected. Experiment VIII. This experiment was a repetition of Experiment VII, but instead of planting out small quantities from day to day, the flask was left undisturbed for 3 weeks. Broth was then added so as to enrich the whole bidk of the water, and the flask incubated at 37° C. for 3 days. The growth which resulted was found to contain numerous small cocci decolorised by Gram’s method. A portion of the growth was then added to an equal quantity of a strong rabbit serum diluted 1—10, and the whole thoroughly mixed was drawn up into a capillary pipette. Distinct agglutination having occurred, the pipette was then opened and the agglutinated mass stroked over a series of agar plates; unfortunately a pure culture of the M. melitensis was not obtained. The result of this experiment is not conclusive, but it suggests that the duration of life of the M. melitensis in water may be longer than 1 week. Conclusions. (1) The M. melitensis is able to live for 6 days in a urine which has become alkaline from the presence of ammonia. (2) The M. melitensis survives for 16 days when spread in a thin layer on a glass cover slip. (3) The M. melitensis survives for 69 days when planted in a dry sterilised manured soil. (4) In dry sterilised sand the duration of life of the M. melitensis appears to be only 20 days. (5) In a sterilised manured soil saturated with water the M. melitensis appears to survive for only 7 days. (6) The M. melitensis is able to live for 80 days on dry fabrics, such as blanket, khaki serge, and khaki cotton. (7) The M. melitensis appears to live for a comparatively short time in sterilised tap-water. It was only recovered in pure culture 6 days after being planted out, though from the result of Experiment VIII it appears possible that the duration of life may extend to 3 weeks.