GLANDERS. 137 



CHAPTER XIII. 



GLANDERS (FARCY). 



Bacillus Mallei. 



GLANDERS is a disease of the horse and ass tribe, charac- 

 terized by the formation of nodules in the mucous membrane 

 of the mouth and respiratory passages. These nodules, very 

 prone to ulcerate, give rise to profuse suppuration, and very 

 soon afterward the lymphatic glands of the neck begin to 

 enlarge. These glands soften early and discharge a very 

 virulent pus. Secondarily the lungs become infected, the 

 infectious material forming small nodules very much resem- 

 bling tubercles in appearance. 



History. In 1882, Loeffler discovered in the discharges and 

 tissues of animals affected with this disease a specific micro- 

 organism which he called Bacillus mallei. 



Morphology. Glanders bacillus is a bacillus with rounded 

 or pointed ends, occurring generally singly, occasionally in 

 pairs, seldom or never forming threads. The bacillus is non- 

 motile, and therefore possesses no flagella. 



Spores. Sonic observers claim to have discovered spores in 

 the glanders bacillus, but, reasoning by analogy, those shiny 

 particles described as spores are really not spores ; they are 

 the same as the shiny particles discovered in stained prepara- 

 tions of the Bacillus tuberculosis, and they cannot be stained 

 by the usual methods of spore-staining, nor do the bacteria 

 containing same resist conditions which are usually resisted 

 by other spore-bearing bacteria. The observation of Loeffler, 

 however, that this microorganism is able to grow after being 

 kept in the dry state for a long time, makes it appear as if 

 some form of permanent spore existed. 



Biology. The Bacillus mallei grows readily on all ordinary 

 media at a temperature between 25 and 38 C. Its growth 

 is very slow, and on this account its isolation and cultivation 



