254 



NOTES ON ACTINOMYCOSIS, AND ITS TEANS- 



MISSIBILITY TO THE HUMAN SUBJECT. 



By C. E. Baenaed, M.D. 



While I cannot but feel that some apology is due to the 

 Eoyal Society for introducing a subject that might perhaps 

 be regarded as purely medical, this feeling is removed by the 

 consideration of its important bearing upon the public health,, 

 and may be held to justify me in bringing it before the 

 Society. I refer to the question of the transmissibility of 

 some bovine diseases to human beings by the consumption of 

 the meat of diseased animals. 



The primary object of my paper is to show that there is 

 prevalent amongst the cattle in Tasmania, as well as in the 

 adjacent colonies, from which we obtain a large proportion of 

 our meat supply, a disease which resembles tuberculosis in 

 some respects, but differs from it in the specific micro-organism 

 that is the cause of the disease, and yet, like tuberculosis, is 

 transmissible to the human subject, and is almost as 

 distressing in its consequences. 



Six years ago Dr. Perkins read an interesting paper before 

 this Society on " Cancer in Cattle," and ably pointed out the 

 probable danger of the use as food of animals affected with 

 cancerous or osteo-sarcomatous swellings ; and he urged that 

 precautions should be taken to avoid the probable trans- 

 mission of cancer to man by eating the flesh of animals so 

 diseased. 



As the tumours in the cases described resembled in 

 external appearance those swellings that are undoubtedly due 

 to a scrofulous taint or tuberculosis, Dr. Perkins considered 

 that they also might be classed as such ; and judging by his. 

 paper, he apparently was unaware of the true nature of the 

 disease in question. Ho well described the appearance of the 

 swellings, and, by microscopical and other specimens, he 

 showed how the bone was affected, and how the tumours 

 grew and formed secondary deposits in the system ; but there 

 is no mention of the specific micro-organism which is now 

 found to be the cause of the growth. 



At the time of his writing the paper there was no accurate 

 knowledge available that would give any clue to the true 

 cause of the cancer. Dr. Perkins himself did not regard it 

 as ordinary cancer, for he says that " though I have examined 

 several specimens, I have not yet come upon cells which in 

 any way resemble those of cancer," and he favours the idea 

 that the tumours are due to tuberculosis. 



