UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Jfc BULLETIN No. 340 



55klkS> / 4l^» Contribution from the Bureau of Animal Industry 



A. D. MELVIN, Chief 



jplW^Ltu 





Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



December 27, 1915 



EXPERIMENTS IN VACCINATION AGAINST 

 ANTHRAX. 1 



By Adolph Eichhorn, Chief of the Pathological Division. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

 Prevalence of anthrax and methods of con- 

 trol 1 



Protective vaccination 2 



Production of serum 4 



Standardization of the serum 7 



Experimental data 8 



Hyperimmunization of horses 8 



Serum tests 9 



Page. 



Preparation of spore vaccine 10 



Technic of administration 11 



Test of the simultaneous method on cattle 



and sheep 13 



Fisld tests 13 



Treatment of anthrax in man 15 



Concentration of serum 15 



Conclusions 16 



PREVALENCE OF ANTHRAX AND METHODS OF CONTROL. 



. Anthrax is a disease that is widely spread throughout the world, 

 and in the United States it is being recognized as one of the most 

 destructive scourges of live stock. In certain sections it is more 

 prevalent than in others, particularly in the Southern States, and 

 since no determined effort has been made toward its suppression it 

 appears to be on the increase, its presence now being recorded in 

 localities where it has never before been recognized. 



As the spores of the causative agent of anthrax retain their 

 virulence and remain lodged in the soil in an active state for many 

 years in the infected localities, it is very difficult to prevent the 

 spread of the infection, and the eradication of the disease is thereby 

 rendered a most serious problem. 



Various factors have to be considered in the prophylactic control 

 of anthrax, such as the prevention of the continued impregnation of 



1 The author was ably assisted in the technical part of this work by Dr. Raymond A. Kelser, assistant 

 in pathology and bacteriology, to whom credit is due for the painstaking and careful execution of the 

 details of the experiments. 



Note.— This bulletin is of interest to stock raisers and veterinarians generally. 

 14044°— 15 1 



