PREVENTIVE MEDICINE 263 



formation or to tuberculosis. Streptothrix infection is most fre- 

 quently observed in connection with the tongue or jaw of cattle, 

 but there are several varieties of Streptothrix organisms, and cases 

 due to one or other variety are seen occasionally in all the domestic- 

 ated animals and in man. In the horse Streptothrix infection is 

 occasionally met with affecting the submaxillary lymphatic glands, in 

 which situation it may be confused with strangles or glanders. 

 It has also been observed to follow castration, the severed end of 

 the spermatic cord being the seat of an actinomycotic tumour. 

 M'Fadyean* described the first recorded case in this country. In 

 swine, primary mammary actinomycosis is a not infrequent lesion. f 

 Inoculation may also occur at the tonsils in these animals (Johne).J 

 The disease is very rare in sheep and goats. It is a common disease 

 in most parts of Europe. Its distribution in Great Britain though 

 very general is somewhat irregular, and it is said that low-lying 

 damp areas favour the growth of the offending organism. Some 

 farms and districts are rarely free from the disease, while in other 

 parts it is practically unknown. Isolated cases may occur on farms 

 with wide intervals of freedom from the disease. The organism 

 is facultative, and there is a good deal of evidence to support the 

 view that it is parasitic upon various plants, especially upon cereals 

 and above all on barley. Streptothrix organisms indistinguishable 

 from the actinomyces have been shown to exist on barley, and 

 Johne observed colonies attached to vegetable particles in the 

 tonsils of pigs, and in the diseased tongues of cattle. Though 

 cases are most frequently seen in barley-growing districts, the 

 disease occasionally occurs among cattle on marshy land which are 

 getting no cereal food. Consequently, it is probable that the 

 actinomyces is also parasitic on certain other grasses. The method 

 of infection is through direct inoculation by cereals carrying the 

 parasite and especially by barley, the awns of which from their 

 structure being especially likely to cause injuries. Infection is 

 in some instances probably favoured by the swollen and raw con- 

 dition of the gums which accompanies shedding of the teeth. Any 

 injury to the skin may be followed by the formation of actinomy- 

 cotic lesions, e.g., through wounds caused by barbed wire, &c. 

 Gooch|| witnessed the formation of actinomycotic tumours in 21 

 animals following the operation of setoning. Unweaned animals 

 * Journ. Comp. Path., 1888, Vol. I., p. 49. 



t Hutyra and Marek, Spec. Path., Vol. I., p. 655. 



t Hutyra and Marek, Spec. Path., Vol. I., p. 656. 



Hutyra and Marek, Spec. Path., Vol. I., p. 647. 

 I! Journ. Comp. Path.. 1894, Vol. VII., p. 59. 



