Anthrax. 241 



air tend to form spores and to preserve and propagate the conta- 

 gion. On the contrary prompt and deep burial, without opening 

 the carcass and before spores can have formed will usually ensure 

 its' destruction. The main danger in such cases comes from in- 

 fecting matter (adherent to the surf ace of the body) which sporu- 

 lates easily. This serves to explain the great danger of working 

 in anthrax hides,' leather, horn, wool, hairs and bristles. It also 

 explains sporulation and preservation of infection when the viru- 

 lent excretions, blood, etc., mix with the surface layers of soil. 

 This may happen at a greater depth (3 or 4 feet) in a very porous 

 soil and where the temperature is sufficiently elevated (above 

 14° C.) It may even occur in water. The dried spores are 

 mostly carried in dust, hay, fodder, and running streams. 



Since 1892 anthrax has prevailed along the banks of the Dela- 

 ware river for a distance of 40 miles in N. J. and Del., destroying 

 from 70 to 80 per cent, of the farm stock. The great morocco in- 

 dustry on this river draws infected hides from India, China, Rus- 

 sia, Africa and South America, and the spores are carried and 

 distrubuted by the tides. 



Infection- Atria. Infection may occur by a variety of channels 

 as : ist, by ingestion, giving rise most commonly to anthrax of 

 the mouth, throat or intestines ; 2d, by inhalation, giving rise 

 to pulmonary anthrax (wool-sorter's disease) : 3d, by inoculation 

 through contact of abrasions, wounds, etc. , with infecting bodies, 

 including surgical instruments : 4th, by flies and other insects : 

 and 5th, by transmission to the foetus in utero. This last form 

 is very rare in the larger animals, but has been repeatedly seen 

 in Guinea pigs, rabbits, goats and even in one case (Pangalli) in 

 man. 



Forms of Anthrax in Domestic Animals. In the lower animals 

 anthrax manifests itself differently according to the seat of in- 

 vasion and the amount of the virus. The" worst forms, seen es- 

 pecially in cattle and sheep, are so sudden that they have been 

 called apoplectic ox fulminant. Without premonitory symptoms 

 there is sudden loss of appetite, trembling, haggard expression 

 of face, uneasy shifting of the feet, irregular movements back- 

 ward or to one side, dyspnoea, cyanosis, plaintive cries, convul- 

 sions, ejection of blood by the nose or with urine or faeces, and 

 death in a time varying from a few minutes to four hours. The 

 16 



