A CULTURE OF B. TUBERCULOSIS FROM THE BLOOD POST MORTEM OF A CASE OF MILIARY TUBERCULOSIS

A careful review of the literature on tubercle bacillemia has failed to show a single instance in which the tubercle bacillus has been grown from human blood. A few unsuccessful attempts to obtain such cultures are cited by Bergeron1in his review, which is dated 1904. Anderson2in 1909 made blood cultures from forty-eight cases of tuberculosis, all of which were negative. He was successful in obtaining three positive blood cultures from eight artificially infected rabbits, and this is the only recorded instance in which the tubercle bacillus has been cultivated from the blood of tuberculous subjects. The reasons for such uniformly negative results are easily seen. Any one who has attempted to grow tubercle bacilli, even from material rich in organisms and uncontaminated, is familiar with the difficulty of getting the growth started. Complete aerobiosis, a carefully regulated temperature, carefully titrated mediums, and proper moisture are all