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with your visits to the Medical College here. A definite
advance in the training of students and in the treatment of
patients in this speciality would thereby be attained. On this
occasion a lecture to Post-graduates in Patna, direct or through
the B. M. A. or L. M. A. might also be arranged."

It is now my fervent request to Government that they
will also favourably consider in the near future the opening
of a Psychiatric Ward in the Patna Medical College Hospital
to facilitate the work of the Psychiatric Clinic by providing
in-door treatment of early mental diseases.

(3) Investigations.—(a) Enteric Group Bacilli including
Bacillus Asiaticus of Castellani and Mental Disorders.—During
the last two years as many as 8 cases were admitted in the
hospital for treatment as certified cases of Manic Depressive
Psychosis and Schizophrenic types of reactions. All were
educated young men and some were students from schools and
colleges. Everyone gave the same common history that previous
to the mental break-down they all had suffered from a severe
type of enteric fever lasting from 22 to 42 days or more and had
delirious symptoms during the course of the fever. The family
history showed no psychopathic or neuropathic heredity in all
cases. The family histories were obtained from reliable and intel-
ligent sources. All the patients developed mental symptoms after
varying period of two months to two years after complete
recovery from enteric, and the stools of all the patients on
admission were positive for either bacilli of enteric group or
Castellani.

The above stated similarity in the history made me very
suspicious as to the causation of their mental disorders whether
it was a direct outcome of some toxins from the enteric group
bacilli or was it due to occluding of the arteriole of the brain
by these bacilli. All the patients recovered after a varying
period of 4 months to one year after treatment. One of them
has been re-admitted as a relapsed case after a year's stay at
home and his stool on return was found to be again positive for
enteric group bacilli. I therefore promptly wrote to Sir Aldo
Castellani of Kisymaio who is considered an authority on such
matters and his reply was as follows :—

" With regard to your enquiry as to whether the toxin
produced by Bacillus asiaticus and similar bacilli produce
mental symptoms, this cannot be excluded but I doubt very
much whether it is so."