142 The aoRs:^. 



which may bring on relapses, and while exercise is of great advantage it 

 must not be turned into work until the animal has entirely regained its 

 strength. 



Anthrax. This is a severe and usually fatal contagious disease 

 chracterized by chills, great depression and stupor of the animal, and a 

 profound alteration of the blood, due to destruction of the red blood cor- 

 puscles. It is caused by the admission into the animal body of bacteria, 

 or low order of living organisms, or their spores, known as the 

 "bacillus of Davaine" or "bacillus anthracis." 



It affects all animals exposed to its contagion. The herbivora are 

 especially susceptible in the following order : the sheep, the ox, and the 

 horse. The Guinea pig, the hog, the rabbit, mice and other animals 

 die quickly from its effects. Man, the dog, and other omnivora and 

 carnivora may be attacked by it in a constitutional form as fatal as in the 

 herbivora, but fortunately, in some cases, develop from it only local 

 trouble, followed by recovery. 



The direct cause of anthrax is always contagion or infection of a pre- 

 viously sound animal, either directly from a diseased animal or through 

 various media which contain excretions or the debris from the body of a 

 previously infected animal. 



Outbreaks often occur at the time of the first rains after a dry season. 

 During the latter the earthworm goes deep in the ground in search of 

 moisture; it finds the spore which has been washed there in past 

 years, swallows it, and brings it to the surface, when the rain furnishes 

 the moisture which drives the worm itself from its deeper home. The 

 virus is carried with the wool from infected sheep and remains in it 

 through the process of manufacture into cloth. The spores remain in 

 the hides of animals which have died of anthrax and retain their vitality 

 throughout months of soaking in the tanners' i^its, the working of the 

 harness-maker or the cobbler and after the oiling of the completed 

 leather. The dried spores in the dust from any of these products may 

 be carried by the atmosphere. 



Symptoms. The symptoms of anthrax develop with extreme rapid- 

 ity; they are frequently so sudden that it appears but a few minutes for 

 the animals to have passed from a condition of perfect health to a dan- 

 gerously diseased one. The horse is dejected and falls into a state of 

 profound stupor, attended by great muscular weakness. The feeble, 

 indolent animal, if forced to move, drags its legs. There are severe 

 chills, agitation of the muscles, symptoms of vertigo, and at times col- 



