Abstract
When saline suspensions of human feces, stored in the icebox for many months, are plated on Endo's agar resultant colonial growth is different from that obtained with the same specimens when fresh. In most specimens, so stored and plated, there occurs an abundant growth of small, white colonies of Gram negative, non-sporing, generally motile, aerobic bacilli which exhibit a variety of biochemical activity, failing however to ferment lactose with acid and gas production, even after prolonged incubation.
Some of these organisms culturally resemble paratyphoid, typhoid and dysentery bacilli and may be mistaken for them. Furthermore, certain of the strains give serological cross-reactions with these known pathogens. Possibly they may be involved in gastro-enteritis, apparently water borne, since organisms similar to those we have under study have been reported from such outbreaks. 1
Clemesha 2 was probably first to observe these organisms. For some reason he named them “Bacillus P”, although noting they were a group of organisms not a species. Clemesha found them in fecal suspensions exposed in shallow dishes to the action of sunlight and observed that they appeared when the conditions of the experiment had eliminated the typical coliform bacteria of feces. Parr and Caldwell 3 encountered similar organisms in great numbers in water deriving from wells evidencing old fecal pollution as shown by chemical tests. Parr 4 again mentions them in a study on the viability of coliform bacteria and elsewhere he 5 states that they may be found occasionally in small numbers in fresh feces.
This report deals with 35 strains of the “Bacillus P” isolated from fecal suspensions stored in the icebox (4°C.) for a number of months and in a few instances isolated from fresh feces.
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