RESISTANCE OF PATHOGENIC BACTERIA.

The article discusses the paper "Resistance of Pathogenic Bacteria," by P. Hofmann. In his paper Hofmann points out that antibiotics may have not only an inhibiting or indifferent action on bacteria but even on occasion in certain dilutions a stimulating one. He demonstrates this. With a dilution of 1:100 of a bacteriostatic the growth of typhus colonies on agar was inhibited; but with a dilution of 1:100,000 the number exceeded by 176% that of a control without antibiotic or with antibiotic in a dilution of 1:50,000. With a dilution of 1: 5,000,000 the effect became indifferent for the first time.