Failure to Produce Filterable Forms of the Common Pathogens in the Kendall Media

Abstract

Kendall 1 described a culture medium containing unaltered, or nearly unaltered protein, and without peptone or significant amounts of other nitrogenous substances, upon which he was able to cultivate a filterable coccus from influenza patients and filterable forms of such organisms as B. typhosus, B. paratyphosus A, S. aureus, Leptospira icterohemorrhagiae, and Dochez' scarlet fever streptococcus. We have endeavored to repeat his work using the Kendall media with B. typhosus, B. diphtheriae, S. albus and S. viridans.

Plain Kendall (K) medium sterilized by autoclaving and the clear K medium sterilized by passage through a Seitz filter after a preliminary heating to 50°C, as directed by Kendall, 2 were employed in the experiments. The powdered dried pig intestine was obtained by one of us (Craig) from Major J. S. Simmons, of the Army Medical School, Washington, D. C.

Cultures were made in series in both types of media, using the organisms mentioned. Incubation at 37°C. was continued for 3 days when subcultures were made. The original cultures were kept at plus 4°C. All of the cultures of each series were assembled at the end of the 5th transplant and the entire quantity of cultures of each organism filtered through newly purchased Berkefeld N filter candles. The filtrate was inoculated into double strength veal bouillon in quantities of from 0.1 cc. up to 50 cc. and incubated for several days in an attempt to elicit growth. Ten cubic centimeter quantities were also inoculated into the “plain K” medium which was incubated for 3 days and transplants made into ordinary media. In no instance did a growth of any of the 4 test organisms result in any of the cultures.