Of veterinary medicine. 161 



GLANDERS. 



Glanders or farcy (French, La Alorve; German, Rotzkrank- 

 heit) is a specific inflammation especially characteristic of the 

 equine species, horses and asses. It is communicable to the 

 human, dogs and cats. It has recently been found that it could 

 be inoculated into the bovine species. Bovines are generally con- 

 sidered to be immune. ' Glanders is considered a fatal disease. 

 Some mild cases can possibly be cured, but these are infrequent. 



External glanders refers to the specific eruption of the 

 Schneiderian membrane ; internal glanders attacks the invisible 

 mucous membranes such as those of the larynx, trachea, bronchi, 

 etc., and the lungs in the form of interstitial pneumonia, the 

 liver and internal lymphatic glands. 



Farcy is an eruption of the external lymphatics and ducts. It 

 is spoken of as cutaneous glanders. In all fatal cases of either 

 glanders or farcy the one runs into the other. A horse seldom 

 dies from the one form of lesion without the other appearing. 

 The disease runs two courses, acute, and chronic (subacute). 

 The acute form kills in 3-6 weeks, although the horse might run 

 along for a longer time ; the chronic form lasts indefinitely. 



The disease is as old as anthrax. It was described under the 

 head of malleus in the fourth century. The French wrote about 

 it in 1618. LaFosse, in 1749 said it was a spontaneous disease 

 and described it as ulceration of the mucous membranes. It ex- 

 ists quite generally in the uncivilized world as well as the civ- 

 ilized. 



Etiology. — The specific germ of glanders called the bacillus 

 malleus was discovered by Loefiler and Schultz in 1882. These 

 men were members of the German board of health. The germs 

 are found in the discharges of glanders and farcy. With them 

 are also found manv other bacteria. 



Semeiologx. — The earliest symptoms are fever and diabetes 

 insipidus. These symptoms are not usually noticed unless the 

 horse is a valuable one and is observed to miss a meal or two. 

 The horse may show so marked polyuria as to partially flood the 

 stable. He has a good appetite, but in spite of it he loses flesh 

 rapidly. He is not sick long before a nasal discharge begins in 



