David J. Davis

SUCCESSFUL HUMAN INOCULATION WITH PURE CULTURES OF PFEIFFER'S BACILLUS (B. INFLUENZAE)

To the Editor: —Some years ago when working with hemophilic bacilli from various respiratory infections, especially pertussis, I had occasion to test the pathogenicity of these organisms in the human throat. The result of this experiment was briefly recorded at the time in an article published under a general title (The Bacteriology of Whooping Cough, J. Infect. Dis . 3: 1, 1906), and for this reason might now be overlooked. Since the results were so striking, and in view of the importance of these bacilli in relation to the recent pandemic of influenza, I have been led, at the suggestion of several workers in this field, to record again the experiment under a more definite and pointed title. The essential facts are these: Hemophilic bacilli were being found by me commonly in the throats and sputums of a number of infectious diseases, including pertussis, measles, varicella, bronchitis and many others, during