236 PHARMACEUTICAL BACTERIOLOGY 



Trachoma, measles, poliomyelites, typhus, scarlet fever, rabies, 

 influenza and whooping cough, can be transmitted to monkeys. Small- 

 pox can be transmitted to cows, horses, rabbits, and sheep. Rabies is 

 transmissible to dogs, wolves, cows, rabbits, cats and other animals; 

 malta fever to guinea pigs, mice and rabbits; plague to most domestic 

 animals, to rats, squirrels, and mice. The gonococcus is not transferable 

 to lower animals, whereas the streptococcus, the staphylococcus group and 

 the pneumococcus group are transferable to many of the lower animals. 

 The following diseases of lower animals are transmissible to man; ring- 

 worm, favus, scabies, tetanus, anthrax, glanders, actinomycosis, psit- 

 tacosis (a lung disease of parrots), plague, trichnosis, bovine tuberculosis, 

 foot and mouth disease, and influenza. Many of the lower animals 

 harbor the primary causes of diseases of man without suffering, any 

 pronounced or even appreciable inconvenience. Thus the oyster harbors 

 the organisms of typhoid fever and of bacillary dysentery. Mosquitoes 

 harbor the causes of malaria and of yellow fever. 



The stable fly carries the primary cause of poliomyelitis and the rat 

 flea harbors the plague bacillus. The differences in racial reactions to- 

 wards poisons is also remarkable. The hog feeds upon poison oak and is 

 quite immune to snake venom as well as to many other substances which 

 are highly toxic to man. The goat is immune to many infections and feeds 

 with impunity upon many poisonous plants. Herbivora are far less 

 .Susceptible to vegetable alkaloids than are carnivora. Insects feed upon 

 -plants which are highly poisonous to man. 



The Caucasian is more susceptible to yellow fever than is the negro, 

 whereas the reverse is true as to tuberculosis, smallpox, and syphilis. As 

 compared with herbivora, the wild carnivora are quite immune to 

 tuberculosis and are also far less susceptible to other infections. Some 

 infections are highly humanized, as gonorrhea, syphilis, and cancer. 



There are also the peculiarities of age immunity, sex immunity, clima- 

 tological, occupational and seasonal immunity, etc., all of which require 

 the attention of the physician. 



Immunity is very markedly relative. For example, no race of man- 

 kind is possessed of absolute immunity to any human disease. The 

 immunity enjoyed by the wild carnivora can be broken down by pro- 

 longed captivity, notably the immunity to tuberculosis. A thousand and 

 one factors modify immunity, as lack of food, poor food, fatigue, over- 

 exertion, cold, excessive heat, dampness, poisons, habits, occupations, 

 etc., etc. 



