danders. 31 1 



Tuberculosis can be successfully coniljuted as purely conta- 

 gious-infectious disease by regulations contemplating required dis- 

 infection of all effluvia containing tubercle bacilli. Recently a 

 .metbod of protective inoculation of cattle against tuberculosis bas 

 been discovered by v. Behring, immunizing the animals by means 

 of strains of tubercle bacilli of low virulence. [Dixon in 1889 

 found that he obtained resistance in rabbits against virulent bovine 

 bacilli after having previously inoculated them with material from 

 an old laboratory culture containing club-shaped and branching 

 forms. It is of interest, too, that successful vaccination of cattle 

 against virulent bovine tuberculosis has been practiced by Pearson 

 in this country, using cultures of human tubercle bacilli of low 

 virulence. I Cows which have obtained a high degree of immuniza- 

 tion produce milk which possesses a certain amount of immunizing 

 bodies ; and it may be hoped that either by using such milk or the 

 serum of highly immunized animals there may be obtained aho a 

 curative method for consumption in man. 



Glanders. 



Glanders (mallcosis) is a contagious disease caused by the glan- 

 ders bacillus {bacillus mallei), occurring in the horse, ass and mule, 

 but very infectious and dangerous, to man and also transmissible to 

 carnivora, sheep, goat, guinea-pig, liAlge-hog, field-mouse, rabbit 

 and camel. The cow is entirely immune even after every effort at 

 inoculation ; and the hog can be infected only with considerable dif- 

 ficulty; domestic fowls are also immune. 



This infectious malady causes both in its acute and chronic course 

 (the latter, perhaps persisting for years) a purulent fibroplastic in- 

 flammatory change, developing mainly in the skin and respiratory 

 mucous membranes. Pathological changes also invariably occur in 

 the lymph vessels and lymphatic glands ; and in addition metastatic 

 foci may follow in the spleen, liver, testicles, kidneys, sometimes in 

 the flesh, and finally a general blood infection results. 



The microorganism of the disease, the glanders bacillus, discov- 

 ered by Schiitz and Loeffler, is always present in all tissues the seat 

 of glanders changes, in the discharges of the subject mixed with 

 glanders pus. and is sometimes found in the blood. It is a short rod- 

 shaped organism, measuring from two to five micromillimeters in 

 length and from one-half to one micromillimeter in width. It does 

 not exist free in nature, but multiplies • exclusively in the animal 

 body (cf. contagions diseases, p. yx) ; only under special conditions 



