Leptospira ictero haemorrhagiae in rats of Trinidad, B.W.I

Leptospira ictero-haemorrhagiae was found in thirty two out of one hundred and twenty (26.6 percent) rats examined in Trinidad. Of these strains, all but two were pathogenic to guinea pigs and produced the usual symptoms followed by death in six to seven days. The incidence of infection was highest in the older and heavier rats. Cultivation on artificial media was readily obtained. (Summary)

Infectivity of the saliva in parasitic rabies

The saliva of bovines, horses, bats, and human beings suffering from paralytic rabies is highly infectious to rabbits. Though a large number of presons scoop out the saliva from the mouths of rabid animals with their hands, upon which superficial wounds can be seen, no one has, so far contracted the disease through this practice (Summary)

A new medium for the differentiation of B. coli in water analysis

B. coli (lactose +, indol +) may be isolated by the standard method not only from faeces and polluted waters, but also from unpolluted soils and unpolluted waters. As a standard indicator of faecal contamination its value is therefore unquestionable. Local experience indicates that the utilisation of citrate by B. coli may be of value in differentiating faecal from non-faecal B. coli in water analysis (Summary)

An unusual strain of rabies virus in a vampire bat

A strain of rabies virus capable of causing death in rabbits in the abnormally short period of two days was found in a vampire bat in Trinidad. Cold storage for six month in glycerine saline did not destroy either its virulence or its power to cause death in two days. The possibility of infection with a coincidental and unknown virus cannot be definitely excluded. The negrigenic power of this virus can be restored by intrassciatic inoculations (AU)

Rabies in the vampire bat of Trinidad with special reference to the clinical course and the latency of infection

Vampire bats are susceptible to artificial inoculation with the virus of rabies. The disease thus produced may be of the furious or the paralytic type, or there may be no clinical symptoms. Vampire bats caught in natural conditions, may be found to be unduly exited and "furious", or may appear healthy without evidence of disease. They may, however, in both cases be infected with rabies. Vampire bats may become carriers of rabies after "recovery" from the furious form of the disease. In this state they may remain capable of spreading infection by their bites for prolonged periods. (Summary).

The transmission of paralytic rabies in Trinidad by the vampire bat

In the year 1925 paralytic rabies appeared among certain animals in the island of Trinidad, and in 1929 affected human beings. Human beings bitten by vampire bats developed sensory symptoms at the site bitten, followed by paralysis and death. Vampire bats by histological examination, animal inoculation, cross-immunity, and serum neutralization tests have been found infected with the virus of rabies. The conclusion is drawn that the vampire bat (Desmond rotundus murinus Wagner, 1840) is the transmitting agent of the disease in man and animals. (Summary).

A further account of the Trinidad outbreak of acute rabic myelitis: histology of the experimental disease

Experimental work proving that the cause of the Trinidad outbreak of acute myelitis in man, and of the so-called botulism in cattle, is the virus of the rabies detailed. The vector has not been determined with certainty but the evidence available suggests that it is the vampire bat. The histology of spontaneous cases and of the disease in the monkey and rabbit is described (Summary)

A further account of the Trinidad outbreak of acute rabic myelitis: histology of the experimental disease

Experimental work proving that the cause of the Trinidad outbreak of acute myelitis in man, and of the so-called botulism in cattle, is the virus of rabies is detailed. The vector has not been determined with certainty but the evidence available suggests that it is the vampire-bat. The histology of spontaneous cases and of the disease in the monkey and rabbit is described. (Summary).

An outbreak of rabies in Trinidad : Without history of bites, and with the symptoms of acute ascending myelitis

An outbreak of human rabies, which in each of 17 cases took the paralytic form, is described; in no instance is a history of bite by a rabid animal forthcoming. The simultaneous occurrence of rabies in cattle is reported. Epidemiological evidence does not suggest a direct connexion between the human and the cattle disease. The opinion that the vector in both cases may be the vampire bat is tentatively expressed. (Summary).