A bacteriological study of the intestinal mucosa and luminal fluid of adults with acute diarrhoea.

Bacteriological studies of jejunal mucosal biopsy specimens and contents were performed on 22 hospitalized adult patients with acute diarrhoea and 24 control normal subjects. None of the washed homogenates of the mucosal specimens were sterile and only one fluid specimen obtained from a control subject was sterile. A definite enteric pathogen was found in only five of the 22 diarrhoea patients. There was no qualitative difference in the bacterial profile of the jejunal mucosa and contents of the diarrhoea patients from that of the control subjects, but there were significant quantitative differences for some bacterial categories. In the control as well as diarrhoea subjects, there was no qualitative difference in the bacterial profile of the jejunal mucosa from that of the fluid, but there were significant quantitative differences for some bacterial categories. The significance of the findings is discussed.

Enzymes of entamoeba histolytica.

In spite of extensive studies of the pathogenic activities of Entamoeba histolytica upon animal hosts by many investigators, the factors that govern the pathogenesis of the parasite are still largely unknown. Attempts have been made to determine the factors concerned in the pathogenicity of certain strains of E. histolytica from the aspect of parasite itself and from the point of view of its interaction with the host. The enzyme content of the trophozoites of the amoebae examined has been studied in detail, both in the living organism and in its extracts. The total patterns of proteolytic enzymes and of certain other enzymes were determined to establish whether it was possible to define the invasiveness of the various strains of E. histolytica already established as pathogenic by other workers or in our laboratories. It was found impossible to distinguish clearly between the so-called "pathogenic" and "non-pathogenic" strains of E. histolytica by such means.