One of the most widely discussed questions at the present time is the relation, if any, that exists between B. influenzae (Pfeiffer's bacillus) and the recent pandemic. From the bacteriologic point of view it would seem that many investigators throughout the world have serious doubts as to the etiologic significance of the influenza bacillus in this condition. Many believe that some form of micrococcus is the exciting agent, while other well-known men, such as Hektoen and Vaughan, state that it is "a disease of unknown origin."
In the clinical reports of the epidemic, the majority of observers agree as to the presence of a more or less well-marked leukopenia. Little, Garofalo and Williams1 report that the present epidemic is not characterized by a sharp leukocytosis and polynucleosis, but rather by a very slight leukocytosis with a proportional lymphocytosis of the small mononuclear variety. Keegan,2 in the examination of