TETANUS 185 



10. Reed and Carroll. Bacillus \cteroi'\e& and Bacilltis cko/erae 

 suis. A preliminary note. T/ie Medical News. Apr. 2g, iSgg 



11. Welch Report of investigations concerning the causation 

 of hog cholera. Johns Hopkins Hospital Bulletin. No. i. 18S9. 



12. Welch and Clements. Remarks on hog cholera and swine 

 plague. First International Congress of America held in Chicago, 111., 

 October, 1893. 



TETANUS. 



§141. Characterization. Tetanus is an infectious dis- 

 ease (toxaemia) in which specific organism is localized at the 

 place of inoculation. It is characterized by spasmodic con- 

 traction of the muscles, referable to the nervous system and 

 by the absence of obvious tissue changes. It is the result of 

 a specific wound infection. All mammalia including man are 

 susceptible. It occurs most frequently in horses, asses and 

 mules ; next to them in the smaller ruminants such as the 

 sheep and goat ; it appears least often in the dog. It is 

 reported to occur rarely in birds and fowls are supposed to be 

 immune. The human species is very susceptible. 



§ 142. History. Tetanus is one of the diseases that 

 was recognized and described before the Christian era. It 

 was not clearly differentiated until the discovery of its specific 

 cause in 1884. 



Ji 143. Geographical distribution. Tetanus is reported 

 to be more prevalent in the hot climates than in the temperate 

 ones, while in the very cold latitudes it is rarely if ever 

 encountered. It is more frequently met with in some districts 

 than in others. Although very common in certain localities, 

 it is, on the whole, a somewhat rare disease. There seems to 

 be no statistics by which its frequency can be determined 

 in this country, but in certain of the European armies this 

 has been noted. In the Prussian army, it is reported to 

 occur once in a thousand cases of sickness among horses. At 

 Wlirttemberg, Hering reports it once in 3000 cases of disea.se 

 among the horses in the cavalry. It has also been noted that 

 in some veterinary hospitals it does not occur for long periods, 

 while at other times several cases may appear in rapid succession. 

 It is, however, a wide spread disease. 



