STATE HYGIENE 593 



tumour, and attenuated by heat. Sometimes two inocu- 

 lations are made at intervals of a few days, with a virus 

 of increasing virulence. The first vaccine employed is 

 mild, and it is the second on which the protection depends. 

 The seat of inoculation is generally near the tip of the 

 tail. 



McFadyean sums up the position of protective inocula- 

 tion by saying it is an operation attended by considerable 

 risk, but that on farms on which this disease annually 

 causes loss, the danger of the operation is outweighed by 

 the prospect of the protection it confers. 



Animals dead of quarter-ill should be cremated or buried 

 deeply in places to which neither cattle nor sheep have access. 

 The body should not be opened in order to avoid soil in- 

 fection ; the blood during life seldom contains the bacilli, 

 but they are abundant a few hours after death. Soil con- 

 tamination should be avoided as the spores which are 

 always present in the bacilli are most difficult to destroy. 

 It is said that even after six months' burial the contagium 

 is still present. 



All excretions from the sick, litter, etc., should be destroyed 

 by fire. 



BRAXY. 



Very little is known of this curious disease, which solely 

 affects sheep, and presents in some of its symptoms and 

 lesions a relationship to both malignant oedema and 

 quarter-evil. Yet it is neither, but a distinct disease due to 

 a spore-forming bacillus which has been isolated and from 

 which the disease has been produced by inoculation. 



Braxy appears confined to certain parts of Scotland, 

 Iceland, Norway, and Denmark, affecting more particularly 

 animals under a year old, rarely attacking those not yet 

 weaned, seldom affecting those two years old, and practi- 

 cally never affecting three year old sheep. There is 

 evidence to show that certain herds of sheep enjoy im- 

 munity, and that those living in infected areas may get the 

 disease in such a mild form as to subsequently become 



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