l68 GLANDERS 



indications according to Nocard "only when, and as far as, we 

 can remove the causes of error that have been pointed out by 

 experience." For example, it would be imprudent to use 

 mallein in case of animals already suffering with an abnormally 

 high or low temperature. The further precautions should be 

 taken that the animals subjected to the test are removed as far 

 as possible from atmospheric variations and the influence of 

 strong sunlight, fog, rain and currents of air. If it be true 

 that the majority of horses are not susceptible or slightly so, 

 to these influences, there are still some that are affected by 

 them. A rise of 1.5 or 2 degrees in temperature would not 

 necessarily indicate a reaction. Again, it must not be for- 

 gotten that certain diseases, strangles for instance, frequently 

 produce great daily variations in the temperature ; therefore, 

 when there is reason to believe in the presence of a disease of 

 this kind, it is necessary to make sure that the increase of 

 temperature consequent on injection of mallein is persistent, 

 and that the organic reaction is clearly present. 



Tlic agglutination inethod or serum diagnosis. Rabieaux 

 found that the difference which exists between the agglutinat- 

 ing power of a serum from a glandered and from a healthy 

 horse may be used as the basis of a method or diagnosing 

 glanders. He collected the serum as pure as possible, diluted 

 it with sterile, distilled water to i in 10, or to i in 500. The 

 diluted serum was then mixed in a small sterile tube with 

 an equal volume of a 24 to 72 hour culture of Bad. mallei in 

 peptonized bouillon (without glycerine). The mixture was 

 placed in an incubator at a temperature of 35° to 37° C. and 

 examined at variable times under the microscope. In dilu- 

 tions of from I in 10 to I in 50 the agglutination occurred in 

 20 minutes to 3 hours. In serum of a non-glandered horse 

 from 2 to 6 hours were required to produce the agglutination. 

 In weaker dilutions the differences were more marked. The 

 development of the method can be followed from the writings 

 of M'Fadyean, Bourget and Mery, Arpad, Fedorowsky, 

 Reinecke, Bonome, Schiitz and Miessner, Schniirer and 

 Moore, Tavlor and Giltner. 



