THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF A RABBIT RESPIRATORY INFECTION : III. NASAL FLORA OF LABORATORY RABBITS.

THE BACTERIA CONSTITUTING THE NASAL FLORA OF RABBITS AT THE ROCKEFELLER INSTITUTE MAY BE ENUMERATED AS FOLLOWS IN THE ORDER OF THEIR FREQUENCY: (1) Micrococcus catarrhalis group, 80 per cent; (2) Bacterium lepisepticum, 70 per cent; (3) Gram-negative cocci which ferment dextrose, lactose, saccharose, maltose, and mannite, but not salicin and Bacillus bronchisepticus, 40 per cent; (4) Staphylococci, streptococci, and various intestinal bacilli which probably are localized at the external nares, 10 per cent. Bacterium lepisepticum is the predominating organism in the nasal passages of the rabbits affected with snuffles.