216 VETERINARY LECTURES 



but when an animal that has died from anthrax is skinned or opened 

 into, and the blood and tissues exposed to the action of the air, spore- 

 development readily takes place, and as they are the real seeds of the 

 disease, it is, therefore, dangerous to open the dead body of an anthrax 

 subject — it tends to spread the malady. However, should the body 

 be buried intact, in the space of from three to five days after death, 

 the putrefactive bacteria of the body destroys all the existing anthrax 

 bacilli, and further danger is averted. The bacilli themselves can be 

 destroyed by excess of heat or cold, or chemical agents, but the 

 spores are difficult to deal with ; they can withstand almost any 

 amount of heat or cold, and can lie for years in the soil without their 

 virulent nature being affected. 



326. Symptoms. — Cattle are more frequently affected with anthrax 

 than any other animal ; the disease may be per-acute, acute, or sub- 

 acute. The per-acute, or apoplectic form, is very sudden in its 

 action : the animal becomes suddenly ill, staggers and tumbles about, 

 with occasional bloody discharge from the nose, mouth, and rectum, 

 and may die in the short space of an hour in convulsions. These 

 are the cases that are usually seen apparently all right, say the last 

 thing at night, and found dead in the morning. The acute form is 

 not so pronounced, and generally occupies three or four hours before 

 running its course. When observed, the animal is noticed to be very 

 uneasy, trembling all over, breathing very fast with a loud noise, 

 mouth open, and saliva foaming from the lips, the beast shaking and 

 reeling from side to side, and finally dropping down and dying 

 suddenly. In some cases the throat is also swollen, this symptom 

 being mostly observed in the pig. The temperature runs from 106 to 

 108 , and occasionally blood is seen coming from the nose and bowel. 

 The subacute form is characterized by the animal being found 

 standing very quietly and thoughtful-looking, hanging its head, with 

 occasional trembling of the muscles, breathing fast, with tears run- 

 ning from the eyes, refusing all food and water, and the cessation of the 

 secretion of milk when the subject is a milch cow. The temperature 

 varies from 104 to 106 , diarrhoea may be present, and the animal, 

 having all the appearances of a severe cold, may continue in the 



