GLANDERS— MALLEUS 425 



that the temperature may reach, the febrile condition does 

 not last at least four to six hours. 



The reaction is negative when the temperature elevation 

 is not more than 1.8° F. and does not exceed 102.5° F. 



A positive reaction denotes that the patient is affected 

 with glanders. An atypical reaction indicates that the case 

 should be considered suspicious. A negative reaction denotes 

 the absence of glanders. Cases of doubtful reaction should 

 be retested but not sooner than fifteen days to six weeks 

 following the next previous test. 



(b) Serum. Diagnosis by Means of Agglutination. — The 

 so-called agglutination test for glanders is a fairly reliable 

 laboratory method in which the serum of the blood of a 

 suspected horse is prepared in various dilutions by means of 

 the addition of physiological salt solution. In order to 

 determine the agglutinating power equal quantities of emul- 

 sions of glanders bacilli which have been attenuated by heat- 

 ing at 60° C. (test fluid) are added to the serum solutions. 

 Blood serum which will agglutinate glanders bacilli in dilu- 

 tions 1 to 1000 or Jn greater dilutions must be considered 

 as coming from a glandered horse. Agglutinations occurring 

 only, in dilutions ranging from 1 to 500 to 1000 are doubtful. 

 Agglutinations in dilutions of less than 500 indicate * the 

 absence of glanders. The test often fails in chronic glanders, 

 the serum in such cases having a very low agglutinating 

 power. On the other hand, some healthy horses possess an 

 agglutinating power as high as that found in some glandered 

 horses. Healthy horses recently malleinized (within three 

 months) may give a positive agglutination reaction. 



Since it is the degree of agglutination and not agglutination 

 itself that determines whether or not infection is present, 

 misinterpretations are unavoidable. When the agglutination 

 test is to be employed the veterinarian usually only collects 

 the serum under proper precautions and sends it to ex- 

 perienced laboratory men; 



(c) Serum Diagnosis by Means of Complement-fixation. — 

 This is a laboratory method for the diagnosis of glanders 

 which seems to be very accurate. Practically it is the 

 application to glanders of the Wassermann test for syphilis 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



