120 SPECIAL BACTERIOLOGY 



' The tetanus bacillus is grown in a bouillon culture for four or 

 five weeks, filtered through porcelain, and a small quantity of the 

 filtrate, about half a drop, injected into the horse subcutaneously ; 

 the dose is again repeated in three days, and if no signs of 

 tetanus appear, in about three days 1 drop is again injected, and 

 the process repeated for several months with continually increasing 

 doses of the filtrate, until the horse's system becomes so resistant 

 to the toxine, that large quantities can be injected without ill 

 effects. Six months after the first injection, the horse will prob- 

 ably remain unaffected by a dose of 2 ounces, and at the end of 

 twelve or eighteen months as much as a pint can be injected with 

 impunity. At frequent intervals during this process, small quantities 

 of blood are removed from the horse, and the potency of the serum 

 tested experimentally on mice and guinea-pigs. When it is found 

 to confer sufficient immunity, the horse is periodically bled by piercing 

 the jugular vein with a trocar connected by sterilized tubing with a 

 sterilized and sealed glass flask. The blood obtained is allowed to 

 coagulate, and its serum is separated and filtered for use. When the 

 blood of the horse once acquires a sufficient protective power to be 

 serviceable, the animal will continue to supply potent serum for a 

 long and varying period without further dosing ; but the supply 

 must be continually tested experimentally.'' (Sidney Villar, F.R.C.V.S., 

 Proceedings of Royal Counties Veterinary Association, Nov. 1897). 



There are other two preparations in the market at present, one 

 being in a powder form which is dissolved in distilled water by heat 

 not to exceed 40 C., and as a curative agent in horses it is injected 

 intravenously, as it is claimed that injection direct into the circula- 

 tion yields results twenty-four hours quicker than subcutaneously. 

 The second preparation is delivered in solution, and is used as a 

 prophylactic in man and animals to counteract tetanus in wounds, 

 in which experience leads one to expect the disease to develop. The 

 amount of the dose (0'5 to 5 c.c.) is regulated by the time that has 

 elapsed since the wound occurred. In operations on animals often 

 followed by tetanus, e.g. y before castration, docking, etc., 0'2 c.c. is a 

 sufficient dose. 



Nocard considers antitetanic serum valuable as a prophylactic. 



In some parts of France where tetanus is very prevalent, Nocard 

 distributed antitetanic serum to sixty-three veterinary surgeons, who 

 treated for the prevention of tetanus 2727 animals with it. Only one 

 animal became affected, and this horse was not inoculated until five 

 days after being pricked in shoeing. Although the delay was too 

 great to prevent the appearance of tetanus, yet the disease was of a 



