A New Method for the Isolation of Organisms from Faeces and Sputum, with some observations on Haemolytic Streptococci in Faeces obtained by this Method

Abstract

Professor L. S. Dudgeon, when consulting bacteriologist to the Forces in the Balkans during the late war, had tried the effect of drying the stools of suspected dysentery patients on some porous material so as to leave only the mucus. In bacillary cases he found that a more abundant growth of dysentery bacilli was obtained from the dried mucus than from the untreated specimen, so that the drying had no harmful effect on the organisms. He used for this purpose unglazed red tiles such as were to be found locally, and suggested that the method should be given a more thorough trial with a more satisfactory type of tile made in this country. With this view the following experiments were made.