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fever lose their power of movement, and become collected
into clumps (or agglutinated, as it is called), in fluids containing
the specific antitoxin of the disease, and this
antitoxin is developed in the blood of all patients suffering
from typhoid, very shortly after the invasion of the disease.
When the reaction is well marked, and only a high dilution
of the suspected blood-serum used (e.g., 1/60 to 1/100), this
diagnostic method is exceedingly useful and most trustworthy.
Practical proof has been shown of this in connection
with some localised small outbreaks of Typhoid in
Lambeth during the year. Doubtful, or suspected cases
were heard of by means of house-to-house enquiries, ana the
diagnosis only settled, in a large proportion of the cases, by
this serum test. A ready means of differential diagnosis
was much needed, as there were many cases of Influenza
in and around the immediate neighbourhoods of the
Typhoid outbreaks at the time.
Diphtheria.
216 samples of throat membranes and secretions from
doubtful Diphtheria cases have been examined during the
year, and in 101 (i.e., 46.8%) the true (Klebs-Loeffler)
bacilli have been obtained. In 52 instances (i.e., 51.5%)
the Klebs-Lœffler bacilli were obtained in pure cultivation—
i.e., without admixture with other bacilli, whereas in the
remaining 49 (i.e., 48.5 %) the Klebs-Loeffler bacilli were
found combined with other well-known bacilli as follows :—
Klebs-Lceffler + Streptococci 33 i.e. 673%
Klebs-Lceffler + Staphylococci. . 5 i.e. 10.2%
Klebs-Lceffler + Streptococci +
Staphylococci 8 i.e. 16.3%
Klebs-Lceffler + Micrococci 1 i.e. 2.04%
Klebs-Lceffler + Streptococci +
Staphylococci + Oïdia 1 i.e. 2.04%
Klebs-Lceffler 4 Pseudo-bacilli
(Hoffman) +- Streptococci.. 1 i.e. 2.04%