[Detection of microbial variants of Salmonella typhi in the bone marrow of typhoid patients and carriers]

The immunofluorescence test with the use of antisera to S. typhi and its L-forms permits the detection of the infective agent in bone marrow smears. This diagnostic method is particularly important in cases of carrier state in the latent phase and in differential diagnosis. As revealed in this study, the microbial variants of S. typhi, reacting with antiserum to its L-forms, are present in the bone marrow of carriers. They are localized, as a rule, on the membranes of lymphoid and erythroid cells, which probably leads to the formation of rosettes.