COMPARATIVE INFECTIVITY FOR GUINEA PIGS OF FUSOSPIROCHETAL EXUDATES FROM DIFFERENT DISEASES

¹ Department of Bacteriology, College of Physicians and Surgeons and School of Dental and Oral Surgery, Columbia University, New York, N. Y.

Suspensions of gingival scrapings from 64 of 105 clinic patients were injected subcutaneously into the groins of guinea pigs after dark field examination for the fuso-spirochetal flora. These included patients with acute Vincent's infection, periodontosis, marginal gingivitis and third molar flap infections. Positive responses in the animals were indicated by development, usually within 10 days, of a necrotic abscess or cellulitis, with aspirable foul exudate containing the fusospirochetal flora. Such responses, without gross differences that could be correlated with source of infection, were obtained in 40 instances (63 per cent) and with the suspensions from all 4 oral diseases. No significant differences were found in the frequency of infectivity of suspensions from the 4 diseases. Similar results were obtained with pus taken by bronchoscope from lung abscess cases and with suspensions of gingival scrapings from the mouths of these patients, all of whom had gingival or periodontal disease. These results indicate that fuso-spirochetal exudates from different human sources, irrespective of the clinical differences in the source disease, are all approximately equally pathogenic for guinea pigs by the method of inoculation employed.

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