Characteristics of Mucoid-Encapsulated Organisms Isolated from Cases of Bronchial Asthma

Sixty-nine cultures from cases of bronchial asthma were studied and 28 found to be positive for mucoid encapsulated bacilli. There were 9 positives from the nose, 14 from the throat, 4 from sputa and 1 from blood. Cultures were made from swabbings from the upper respiratory tract and in one instance from the blood. Swabbings were first cultured directly on blood agar plates. The swabs were then put into tubes of Avery's medium and incubated over night. If the gram stain for organisms grown in Avery's medium showed the presence of gram negative encapsulated bacilli the fob-lowing day cultures were made from the Avery's tubes to blood agar plates. With 2 exceptions there was poor growth of the mucoid encapsulated organisms cultured directly from the swabbings to blood agar plates. The organisms grew well in Avery's medium and later when transferred grew well on the blood agar plates.

The organisms described in these studies were gram negative, encapsulated, non-sporulating bacilli. There was a great variation in size and shape, ranging from coccoid to long rod forms in the same cultures. On agar the colonies were large and grayish white in color. Viscosity varied with the individual strains. In broth there was a general cloudiness of the medium with a heavy stringy sediment. In gelatin there was a grayish white mucoid growth on the surface. With the exception of one case there was no liquefaction of the gelatin.

Fermentation reactions were variable and in accordance with similar reactions studied by other investigators (Small and Julianelle, 1 Fitzgerald, 2 Clairmont, 3 Perkins 4 ). Dextrose, mannite, lactose, saccharose, maltose, galactose, raffinose, rhamnose, sorbitol, salicin, inulin, dulcitol and inositol were used. The majority of the organisms isolated fermented dextrose, mannite, lactose, saccharose, maltose, sorbitol and salicin.