338 VETERINARY BACTERIOLOGY 



laxis and cure. It is of therapeutic value in man, also. Ten c.c. 

 is a prophylactic dose for sheep. The serum is of greatest use 

 where it is necessary to immunize large numbers of animals quickly, 

 as in a herd of sheep in which anthrax has made its appearance. 

 The serum has not been used extensively enough to warrant defi- 

 nite statements of its value, although many favorable reports Save 

 been recorded. > 



Simultaneous injection of antisera and virulent cultures has 

 been advocated by Sobernheim. Its value has not been satis- 

 factorily demonstrated. 



Bacteriologic Diagnosis. Smears from the blood or tissues of 

 an animal show short chains of large, gram-positive rods, with 

 blunt ends. Capsules may be demonstrated in the blood. A stab 

 culture in gelatin will give the characteristic spiking. Animal 

 inoculations may be used where the organism is not in pure culture. 



Transmission. Anthrax is usually transmitted from one ani- 

 mal to another by ingestion, more rarely through skin lesions. 

 Cutaneous infection and infection by inhalation are most common 

 in man. The organism does not sporulate within the body. 

 Dead animals should be burned or buried deeply. The excretions 

 from an infected animal, the feces in particular, contain many 

 bacteria which can form spores on leaving the body. Pastures 

 once infected may remain so for many years, as the spores are not 

 readily destroyed by desiccation and may persist in the soil for a 

 long time. Blood-sucking flies sometimes spread the disease from 

 one animal to another by direct inoculation. Care should always 

 be used in dealing with infected animals, as the disease is fatal to 

 man as well. 



Bacillus lactimorbi 



Diseases Produced. Trembles of cattle; milk sickness of man; 

 " alkali-poisoning " in the southwestern United States. 



Jordan and Harris, in 1909, described the Bacillus lactiinurl>i 

 as the probable cause of trembles in cattle and of milk sickness 

 in man. The organism was first isolated in an outbreak in Xcw 

 Mexico. 



Distribution. The disease has been reported from Ohio, 

 Tennessee, Carolina, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and the south- 

 western states and territories. 



