REVIEW — TROPICAL MEDICINE, ETC. 11 



Anthrax. This disease is said to have occurred in Kordofan, but it has never come 

 under my notice in the Sudan. Stockman,' however, has suggested the possibihty of the 

 introduction of the disease through oil cake for cattle, a point proved beyond doubt,- though 

 nothing definite regarding its importance has been ascertained. Kessler^ has investigated 

 the influence of the tanning process upon anthrax spores and has found that chemicals and 

 processes in common use cannot be said to destroy all of the anthrax spores upon infected 

 skin. These can even resist exposure to solutions of caustic lime for from 12 to 17 days. 

 A 1 per cent, solution of formalin, however, if allowed to operate for a period of 48 hours 

 easily destroys the spores. Experiments by Sirena''* showed that the spores maintained 

 both their vitality and virulence for periods of years in the soil, in sea-water and in 

 distilled or sterilised water. These points seem worth considering, as in the future the trade 

 in Sudan hides is likely to increase. Veterinary officers may note the most recent method 

 of transmitting anthrax material to the laboratory for purposes of culture and animal 

 inoculation. This is the plaster of Paris rod method introduced by Forster, of Strasburg. 

 It has been tested and found satisfactory. A reference to it will be found in the Journal of 

 Tropical Veterinary Science for July, 1907, while Forster describes his method in Cent. f. 

 Bakt., Abt. I. Orig., Vol. XL., 1906, p. 751. 



Mazzini^ has worked at the diagnosis of anthrax, and concludes : — 



1. The material should be collected from the animal before advanced putrefaction occurs, preferably not 

 later than 24 hours after death in the summer. 



2. The method of Heim, with threads, or that of Pischoeder, with 2 to 3 millimetres of blood, is the best, 

 because putrefaction is thus arrested or impeded. 



3. The cultural test is made by sewing a piece of thread saturated with spleen juice on Agar. 



4. The biological proof on the guinea pig is less reliable on account of the presence of extraneous organisms. 



5. The failure of both these above tests does not exclude anthrax. Heating of the material to 60° C. must 

 be had recourse to. 



Bacteriolog;y. Under this heading only questions of general bacteriological interest 

 will be mentioned. 



Bond'' has drawn attention to the urinary mucous tract, and not the blood stream, as the 

 route of invasion by pathogenetic organisms under certain conditions. This occurs in some 

 cases clinically like pyelitis, but in which no adequate cause for the illness can be found. 

 Females are chiefly affected, and there is a distinct connection with the pregnant state. He 

 has shown that wliere there is a temporary arrest, partial or complete, in the normal out- 

 going flow of urine from the kidney a regurgitant mucous stream may occur in the genito-urinary 

 tract, and micro-organisms may thus be carried from the urethra or bladder to the ureter and 

 kidney. Those principally concerned appear to be the gonococcus, streptococci, Staphylo- 

 coccus albus and the Colon bacillus. He is inclined to think that the Tubercle bacillus may 

 reach the kidneys in this way. The question is one of considerable interest in a dry and very 

 hot country like the Sudan. In the First Eeport of these Laboratories I made mention of a 

 condition resembling a mild pyelitis which is apt to occur in new-comers, and which is 

 believed to be due to the irritation produced by concentrated urine. In the light of Bond's 

 observations it is possibly micro-organismal in nature and due to some such condition as he 

 describes, although the disturbance is usually of so mild a nature that it would scarcely seem 

 to be infective. 



Arnold' has tested the effect of the exposure to tobacco smoke on the growth of patho- 

 genetic micro-organisms, and concludes that it is very probably detrimental to the growth of 

 some of these, especially perhaps the diphtheria bacillus. He points out, however, that its 

 effect is certainly not greater, and is probably less, than that of smoke derived from other 



' Stockman, S. (May, 1905). Public Health, Vol. XVII., p. 491. 



' Stockman, S. (October, 1906), "The Causes of Anthrax in Great Britain." Journal of Tropical Veterinary 

 Science, p. 432, Vol. X. 



' Kessler, H. (February, 1905), " The Influence of the Tanning Process upon Anthrax Spores." Public Health, 

 p. 273, Vol. XVII. 



• Sirena, S. Arch, de la Sc. Mid., t. XXX., No. 8, 1906. 



" Mazzini, Q. (1908), "Experiments Regarding the Diagnosis of Anthrax." Article translated in yow/m? 

 uf Tropical Veterinary Science, May, 1908, Vol. Ill, No. 2. 



« Bond, C. J. (.July 12th, 1907), " On the Urinary Mucous Tract." British Medical Journal, p. 1639. 



■> Arnold, M. B. (May 4th, 1907). lancet, p. 1220, Vol. I. 



* Article not consulted in the original. 



