The Serologic and Etiologic Specificity of the Alpha Streptococcus of Gastric Ulcer

The Enterococci: With Special Reference to Their Association with Human Disease

“…A number of investigators (Gordon, 1922;Durand and Dufourt, 1923;Meyer and L6wenstein, 1926;Meyer, 1937) reported that the majority of enterococci from various sources fall into a few well-defined groups according to agglutinative reactions, which were confirmed by agglutinin absorption tests in the studies of some of the investigators. Saunders (1930) reported that in a large series of cases enterococci from the tissues of resected gastric and intestinal ulcers and from certain types of ulcers in other parts of the body exhibited similar serologic characteristics. Torrey and Montu (1936) found that enterococci serologically related to Saunders' strains occurred more frequently in patients showing intestinal lesions than in normal adults.…”

“…According to Sherman (1945), symptoms similar to those in man may be produced in cats by feeding them with milk in which enterococci have grown. Saunders (1930) reviewed the literature on the aEsociation of streptococci with ulcers of the digestive tract, and he reported finding the constant occurrence of enterococci in the tissues of resected gastric, duodenal, and gastrojejunal ulcers. His observations were confirmed by Torrey and Montu (1936).…”

A Century of Helicobacter pylori

“…He modestly named his organism 'Bacillus Hoffmani', but it was evident after further study that the lesion-producing capabilities of this bacterium were nonspecific. In 1930, Saunders [54] demonstrated that the streptococcus organism isolated from peptic ulcers in humans was of the alpha variety, and identified specific antibodies against this agent in serum from patients. However, he was not able to produce ulcers in animals by injecting the inoculum and proposed that laboratory animals do not spontaneously form gastric ulcers, since they exhibited an innate resistance to this organism.…”