A study of the normal and pathological intestinal flora of infants and very young children

Abstract

The aim has been to ascertain the bacteriological conditions obtaining in the intestine of infants and young children, in health, and when suffering from diarrhoea.

The healthy children have been divided into classes according to the nature of the feeding -- breast fed children, bottle fed children, and children on a mixed. diet.

The flora of the children suffering from diarrhoea has been studied and by a comparison with normal cases, an attempt Was made to arrive at conclusions as to the cause of diarrhoea.

The cases of diarrhoea studied were not cases of Epidemic Summer Diarrhoea. They occurred during the very cold and wet summer of 1912, and during the winter following.

I hesitate, however, to call them cases of Sporadic Diarrhoea, as there was some evidence that some cases had derived infection from others, or that some common factor was at, work.

All through, as was suggested to me by Dr. Ritchie, I have endeavoured_ to study the flora as a whole, and tried not to be seduced into the particular study of one group of organisms to the exclusion of others. This has involved the formulation and practice of a somewhat lengthy scheme of routine examination.

A total of 56 specimens has been examined. Of these, 11 are not included in the present thesis as they were used while studying means of isolation in order to formulate a satisfactory routine examination.

3 others are not included as they were older children suffering from intestinal indigestion.

21 cases free from diarrhoea, and which always had been free from diarrhoea were put through the routine examination. These cases throughout the thesis I have called normal. I wish to say that by this I mean completely free from diarrhoea. Many of the children were not healthy.

14 cases suffering from diarrhoea have been studied, and in addition 4 specimens from cases convalescent, or recovered, from diarrhoea have been obtained, as well as the specimens obtained from the same cases while the diarrhoea was at its worst.

A specimen of faeces and a catheter specimen of urine were also obtained from 3 cases of Coli Pyelitis with the object of comparing the colon bacilli of urine and faeces.