290 
A TREATISE ON ELEPHANTS. 
As regards the disease in elephants it will be sufficient to observe 
that all degrees of severity and diversity of symptoms may be met 
with. It frequently happens that the most virulent forms are 
encountered during the early period of an outbreak. Death some- 
times ensues so rapidly without any symptoms having been noticed, 
that it has been attributed to apoplexy, heat-stroke, lightning-stroke 
and snake-bite. During the rains, when anthrax is prevalent, occa- 
sionally more or less sudden deaths are recorded in which the mouth, 
tongue and throat have been observed to be in a diseased state, and 
these symptoms have been attributed by Burmans to a black hairy 
caterpillar which is common at this season of the year in certain 
localities where it often does immense damage to teak and other 
trees. Burmans state that if an elephant takes up one of these 
creatures with its food death will result. In the same way similar 
cases in horned cattle have been ascribed to this caterpillar, but 
these are often cases of anthrax. I have handled the caterpillar 
and have not suffered except some slight irritation. 
Prognosis. — Most unfavourable : Friedberger and Frohner 
give the average mortality amongst domestic animals from 70 to 
go and even 100 per cent, in the worst types [i.e.^ apoplectic). 
After an epidemic has continued some time the disease may 
assume a milder type and recoveries without any treatment are not 
unusual. 
Diagnosis. — Though it is highly important readily to recognize 
anthrax, it is in reality often a most difficult matter owing to the 
variation in symptoms, or owing to a fatal issue arising without any 
definite symptoms at all having been manifested. Again, it is often 
difficult in dealing with isolated cases. When some of the more 
important symptoms enumerated above have been detected, there is 
less difficulty in pronouncing the character of the disease. Positive 
diagnosis can only be made by finding the anthrax bacillus in the 
blood by means of the microscope. If anthrax has been prevalent 
in a locality previously, and sudden deaths occurred among cattle at 
the same time as among elephants, or if elephants have grazed in 
places where carcases are known to have been buried, the disease 
may reasonably be suspected to be anthrax. 
When anthrax is suspected as a cause of death, slides or cover- 
glass preparations should be made and sent in at once for examina- 
tion. 
In connection with this it should be remembered that anthrax 
bacilli only invade the blood stream shortly before deaths and 
that after death putrefactive organisms which closely resemble 
anthrax bacilli enter the blood stream from the bowels. Therefore 
in all cases, if blood cannot be taken either half an hour 
