144 ANTHRAX 



marked increased in the number of eosinophiles. No change 

 from the normal was noted in the large mononuclear leuco- 

 cytes or in the mast cells. 



The bodies of animals which have died from anthrax are 

 often well nourished. Rigor mortis is absent and they decom- 

 pose quickly. Very frequently blood flows from the natural 

 openings of the body, and the rectum is sometimes prolapsed. 



All the foregoing lesions may be absent in very acute 

 apoplectic cases. The specific organism is, however, always 

 present in the cadaver. It is important to note that occasion- 

 ally the usual changes indicated by the symptoms and the dur- 

 ation of the disease are not found on post-mortem examination. 

 In one epizootic, the writer saw an animal dead from subacute 

 anthrax in which the blood and tissues were teeming with 

 anthrax bacteria, yet the organs examined macroscopically 

 appeared to be normal. Other animals in the same outbreak 

 exhibited the more usual anatomical changes. 



The period of duration varies from a few hours to a week 

 or even longer. 



The prognosis is unfavorable. In some herds the mor- 

 tality is ICO per cent while in others a number of animals 

 may recover. The average mortality is placed at about 70 

 per cent in animals. In the human .species many persons 

 recover from its local form (malignant pustule). 



M'Fadyean has reported this di.sease in 39 consecutive 

 outbreaks in which a total of 54 animals died. In New York 

 the disease existed in 1904 in 15 herds in one locality. There 

 were more than 30 deaths. In one herd of 21 animals, 20 had 

 the disease, 16 died and 4 recovered. In another dairy 4 out 

 of 7 died, but in the others one or two animals in each was 

 affected. In 1906 anthrax occurred on 84 different farms in 

 the same county. There were 170 fatal cases of which 2)^ 

 were in horses, 123 in cattle, 11 in sheep, and 3 in hogs 

 (Burnett). These facts are interesting in showing that the 

 disease does not always cause heavy losses in the infected 

 herds. 



