300 



ACTINOMYCOSIS 



by Bollinger in 1877. The ray fungus was undoubtedly ob- 

 serv^ed prior to this by Lebert and Robin, both of whom failed 

 to recognize it as a vegetable parasite. 



The fungus was carefully described by Dr. Harz, a botan- 

 ist, who gave it the name actinomyces or ray fungus. Bolin- 

 ger was the first to carefully study the disease in cattle and to 

 demonstrate the power of the ray fungus to produce disease. 

 With this discovery of Bollinger in 1877, actinomycosis be- 

 came recognized as a definite, specific disease which could in 

 most cases at least be differentiated from the other affections 

 with which it had hitherto been confused. In 1845 von lyang- 

 enbeck of Kiel observed and made drawings of peculiar bodies 

 in a case of vertebral caries in man which it is now believed 

 were rosettes of the ray fungus. In 1878, Israel demonstrated 

 the disease in man. Since that time it has been carefully 

 studied and described by a number of investigators. 



§ 228. Geographical distribution. Actinomycosis is 

 quite widely distributed throughout North and South America 

 and Europe. It is much more prevalent in certain countries 

 and districts than in others. The observation has been made 

 that animals pastured upon low lands and in river valleys are 

 more liable to contract it than tliose feeding upon high and 

 dry ground. It has also been noted that cattle fed upon rough 

 or coarse forage are more prone to the disease on account of 

 abrasions of the buccal mucosa than those kept upon less 

 harsh food. 



It is very difficult to procure reliable statistics concerning 

 the extent to which it occurs. The observations which have 

 been made at the union stock yards, Chicago, show one case 

 of actinomycosis in from 1600 to 1700 cattle. The statistics 

 from the abattoirs in Berlin show one case to 4150 cattle and 

 one in 8000 pigs. These figures do not, however, indicate the 

 extent of the disease among the farm animals, as they are 

 collected from those animals presented for .slaughter only. At 

 the clinic of the New York State Veterinary College there is 

 presented for treatment a very few cases each year. In the 



