298 INFECTIOUS DISEASES 



These are carbuncles one or two inches in diameter that are hot 

 and tender at first, but later become gangrenous, diffused swellings. 



On post-mortem examination the blood is found tarry and 

 dark, and bloody exudates may be found in the abdominal and 

 thoracic cavities. The spleen is soft and two or three times 

 larger than normal. The diagnosis should be confirmed by 

 finding the B. anthracis in the blood and tissues. The death-rate 

 is very high, usually about seventy-five per cent. 



The treatment is preventive. Animals should be kept away 

 from lots and pastures where deaths from anthrax have been 

 known to occur, unless immunized against the disease. Marshy, 

 swampy land that is infected with the germs of anthrax should 

 be drained and cultivated. 



When an outbreak of the disease occurs, all of the animals 

 should be vaccinated. The carcasses of the animals that die 

 should be cremated at or near the place where they die. If 

 hauled or dragged, the necessary precautions should be taken 

 against scattering the infectious material from the carcass, and 

 plenty of disinfectants used. Persons attending the animals 

 should be warned against opening or handling the carcass without 

 protecting the hands with rubber gloves. 



Anthrax vaccine should not be used by incompetent persons. 



Ulcerative Stomatitis. (Ulcerative Sore Mouth.) — This is 

 an infectious disease of young animals. Pigs from a few days 

 to a few weeks of age are the most commonly affected. 



The specific cause of ulcerative sore mouths is the Bacillus 

 necrophorus (Pig. 104). The infectious agent is distributed by* 

 the udder of the mother becoming soiled with filth from the 

 stable floor and yards, and by affected pigs nursing mothers of 

 healthy litters. Filth, sharp teeth and irritation to the gums from 

 the eruption of the teeth are important predisposing factors. 



The symptoms are, at first, an inflammation of the mucous 

 membrane lining the lips and cheeks and covering the gums. 

 The inflamed parts are first swollen and a deep red color; 

 later, white patches form and the part sloughs, leaving a deep 



