An epidemic of paratyphoid B fever occurred in Dundee during the period from 19 February to 19 October 1941. There were 373 notifications and 357 patients were admitted for investigation and treatment to King's Cross (Infectious Diseases) Hospital. Information was also received of the occurrence of eight cases in other areas, and there is evidence that they were infected in Dundee.

1. This report summarizes the results of investigating 6963 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis in Great Britain.

2. The tubercle bacilli in the sputum of each case were obtained in culture and their types determined.

In Scotland out of 2769 cases 2609 yielded strains of human type (2564 eugonic and 45 dysgonic) and 160 (5·8 %) yielded strains of bovine type.

In England tubercle bacilli of the human type were demonstrated in 3592 cases and of the bovine type in seventy-nine cases. Dysgonic human strains were found in seven cases, four of which occurred in the only series of English cases, namely 680, which were systematically examined for strains of this variety; dysgonic human strains were therefore proportionately less frequent in England than in Scotland. Of the seventy-nine bovine cases fifty-four occurred among 3422 unselected cases and twenty-five among a series of selected cases.

In Wales 203 cases were examined and two were found to be bovine infections.

In Eire no bovine infections were found in a series of 320 cases.

3. The total number of cases of pulmonary tuberculosis shown to be expectorating bacilli of the bovine type of the sputum was 241, but twenty-five of them, occurring as they did among selected cases, are not used in the following percentages.

The proportional frequencies of bovine infections were higher in all regions of Scotland than in England, the percentage being highest in the Orkney Islands (25·8%). The rural districts of the mainland of north-east Scotland follow with 9·1% and then those of the rest of Scotland with 5·2%. The City of Aberdeen gave 4·4% of bovine infections, but many of these had been infected in the country. In England the highest percentages were recorded in the north and middle regions, namely 2·0%, the southern part yielding only 0·6%.

4. The strains from 232 of the 241 cases were fully virulent and from nine they showed varying degrees of attenuation.

5. In six cases the bovine bacilli were associated with tubercle bacilli of another type, five times with eugonic human strains and once with a strain which could not be cultivated.

6. The anatomical evidence (previous cervical and abdominal glandular and bone and joint tuberculosis) in about a third of the cases in Scotland and in a quarter of those in England was strongly in favour of the digestive tract as the channel of entry of the bacilli.

7. Autopsies have been made on fourteen cases. In one case the lungs only were examined. In nine autopsies the anatomical evidence indicated the alimentary canal as the route of infection. In four autopsies the anatomical evidence was inconclusive.

8. A history of tuberculosis was obtained in seven families in each of which two cases of pulmonary tuberculosis occurred. But bacteriological investigations in each of two families showed human in one affected person and bovine tubercle bacilli in the other and therefore disproved human to human infection. All the ten patients in five families yielded cultures of bovine tubercle bacilli. We concluded from the evidence that in one family both cases were of alimentary origin. Human to human infection was presumptive in the remaining four families. No autopsies were made in the last cases.

9. Twenty-five patients were associated in their employment with cattle. Autopsies were made on two of them but the anatomical evidence as to the channel of entry of the bacilli was inconclusive.

10. Of the 241 persons, forty-eight were known to be married and had 120 children. Bovine strains were obtained from two children (two families). Bacteriological evidence disproved infection from the parents in one case but was in favour of it having taken place in the other.

11. One probable instance of infection with bovine bacilli spreading from man to cattle is quoted.

12. A case of tuberculosis of the lungs due to bovine tubercle bacilli is indistinguishable clinically, radiologically and by post-mortem examination from one due to human tubercle bacilli.

The Editor has asked me for a brief note to explain how a number of papers by my husband came to be published in this Journal during the two years following his death.

In the records of the Registrar-General of England and Wales prior to the year 1940, diabetes was accorded by the rules of classification a high preference over other causes mentioned in association with it upon death certificates, the only important causes preferred to it being the infective diseases cancer, rheumatic fever, sequelae of syphilis, injuries, poisoning, acute intestinal obstruction and puerperal sepsis. It was ascertained from a sample of 123,000 deaths during 1921–30 that 91 % of all death certificates with mention of diabetes were classified to diabetes; in other words the death-rates represented 91 % of the total mortality suffered by persons recognized as diabetics and recorded on certificates as such. It is important to keep this fact in mind when seeking explanations for the trends of mortality at different ages between the years 1860 and 1940.

Some concentration of the carcinogenic material in a Venezuelan spindle grade oil has been affected by simultaneous molecular distillation, and further concentration has also been accomplished by subjecting one of the more carcinogenic of these distillates to chromatographic adsorption. Animal experiments revealed that this distillate was about twice as carcinogenic as the oil from which it was derived. Two small fractions obtained from this distillate by chromatographic adsorption were painted on the skin of a few mice and both appeared to be appreciably more carcinogenic than the distillate from which they were derived. Further experiments with one of these fractions and the distillate, not yet completed, indicate that this fraction is at least five times as strong as the distillate from which it was derived. Thus by a combination of molecular distillation and chromatographic adsorption processes we have obtained a fraction about ten times as strong as the original oil. During the chromatographic adsorption process large quantities of colourless, low index, inert or almost inert material of relatively low viscosity have been separated from the highly coloured active remainder. It would appear that the most active material is highly viscous at room temperature, but its activity may be due to the presence in it of crystalline solids.

In conclusion we wish to express our thanks to our steward, Mr L. Norburn, for his valuable assistance in the practical work.

The colloid material (S.D. 2), which contains as active constituents 30 % tetrachlorethylenum and 10 % oleum pini, was prepared and supplied by Mr J. F. Moseley of Altrincham for tests on the skin. It is claimed that this material had benefited considerably certain forms of dermatitis, including that produced by mineral oil. We were therefore interested to discover whether its effect on tumour production in mice would resemble our lanolin-olive oil ointment.

1. A weekly examination for haemolytic streptococci was made of the dust of two hospital wards; observations lasted in each ward for about six months. The wards chosen were a combined ear, nose and throat and eye ward used for adult patients, and a children's ward.

2. It was found that on an average for the whole period the dust of the former ward contained 300,000 haemolytic streptococci per gram and the dust of the latter 250,000 per gram.

3. Representative colonies of haemolytic streptococci grown from each sample of dust were examined serologically to determine their group. About 33% of those isolated from the E.N.T. Eye ward were group A and about 80% of those from the children's ward.

4. In order to determine the relationship of the streptococci in the dust to streptococcal infection among patients and staff, throat swabs and swabs from septic lesions were regularly examined.

5. In the children's ward 27·8% of 270 patients were found to be infected with haemolytic streptococci either on admission or at some time during their stay in hospital. The incidence of infection acquired in hospital was more than 12·2%. About two-thirds of these infections were latent.

6. Group A streptococci isolated from the dust and swabs were identified serologically according to type. It was noted that the occurrence of a particular type in the dust often resulted from the presence of one or more infected persons in the ward.

7. It was, however, frequently noted that a particular type made its first appearance in the dust when it could not be cultured from any of the swabs. It is possible that these strains were introduced to the ward by visitors, such as patients' relatives and friends or patients from other wards coming for septic dressings.

8. No conclusive example of a hospital cross-infection conveyed by dust was noted.

I wish to thank Dr T. J. Hennelly and Dr D. G. Morgan, Medical Superintendents of the two hospitals, for giving me the facilities to carry out the investigation; also Dr S. T. Crowther and Dr Duncan Davies, and the sisters and nursing staff for their assistance and co-operation. I am especially indebted to Dr V. D. Allison for his helpful advice and criticism.

1. Certain strains of lactose and non-lactose-fermenting coliform bacilli have been found to possess a common agglutinogen. This antigen is found in both motile and non-motile smooth strains and appears to be distinct from ‘H’, ‘O’ and rough antigens, and from the X antigen described by Topley & Ayrton. In certain respects it seems to resemble the Vi antigen of Felix & Pitt, notably in the inhibitory effect it exerts on ‘O’ agglutination. It is, however, not associated with virulence and is of relatively wide distribution.

2. The strains, when inoculated into rabbits, stimulate the production to high titre of an agglutinin which can be absorbed out completely by any one of the strains.

3. Subculture of the strains under certain conditions results in the loss of the antigen and the development of specific variants.

4. Agglutinins to these strains have been found in certain diagnostic sera and may prove a possible source of error, particularly if slide agglutination is relied on for identification.

We take this opportunity of expressing our thanks to Prof. G. S. Wilson for the loan of Bact. typhi-murium ‘X’ antiserum.

1. A series of cases of repeated accidental vaccinal infections of vaccinia and vaccinoid types in subjects possessing strong or complete vaccinal immunity, is presented.

2. It is suggested that there is a similarity between such cases and the repeated infections on the hands of farm workers and milkers handling cows naturally infected with cowpox.

3. It is difficult to fit satisfactorily such facts into the framework of the modern theory of vaccinal immunity, but no explanation of the apparent discrepancy can be suggested.

1. The action of phenol on Bact. coli has been studied quantitatively in detail under such conditions that unfavourable circumstances other than the presence of the germicide were as far as possible eliminated. Briefly, this involved the addition of phenol solution directly to a large volume of culture developed under rigidly standardized conditions.

2. When the mortality exceeded 95% the variation between the numbers of colonies on replicate plates, when determining the numbers of survivors, was often excessive.

3. Under the conditions used the death-rate was not constant. First, there was a phase (1) of slow but increasing death-rate which merged gradually into a phase (2) of approximately constant rate which was also the maximum for a given phenol concentration. There are indications that the death-rate may decline towards the extreme end of the disinfection process.

4. The virtual extinction time (the time taken for the survivors to fall to 1 per ml. as determined by extrapolation of the log survivors-time curve) increased as the phenol concentration decreased, as also did the duration of phase 1. The latter occupied about 60% of the virtual extinction time when the concentration was 3·48 g. phenol per 1., but with rising concentration its duration decreased at a greater rate than the virtual extinction time so that at about 7 g. per 1. phase 1 was very short though still detectable. The standard errors of the virtual extinction times varied between ± 1·5% and ± 5·43%.

5. Using the probit method it has been shown that at low concentrations of phenol the distribution of resistance of Bact. coli is approximately normal when the resistance is measured in terms of the survival times.

6. The distribution of resistance was found to be normal at all concentrations of phenol used, when that resistance was measured in units of the logarithms of the survival times, with the exception that at the lower concentrations there was a sudden change in the slope of the probit-log survival-time line at about 20% mortality. This change became less marked with rising concentration and was probably absent at 8·00 g. phenol per 1.

7. After conversion into the dosage-mortality form, the data reveal that about 70% of the cells show an approximately normal distribution of resistance when the latter is expressed in terms of the dosage survived for a fixed time, provided that the exposure time is less than 50 min.

8. The distribution tends to be normal for longer exposure times when the resistance is measured in terms of the logarithms of the dosages survived. On this basis a change of slope of the probit-log dosage line is observed as in the case when resistance is measured in terms of the logarithms of survival times.