UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
JWr^wt 
BULLETIN No. 340 
Contribution from the Bureau of Animal Industry 
A. D. MELVIN, Chief 
Washington, D. C. 
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 
December 27, 1915 
EXPERIMENTS IN VACCINATION AGAINST 
ANTHRAX. 1 
By Adolph Eichhoen, Chief of the Pathological Division. 
Prevalence of anthrax and methods of 
trol 
CONT 
Page, 
con- 
1 
2 
ENTS. 
Preparation of spore vaccine 
Page. 
10 
11 
Protective vaccination 
Test of the simultaneous method 
on cattle 
4 
13 
Standardization of the serum 
7 
8 
Field tests 
13 
15 
8 
15 
Serum tests 
9 
16 
PREVALENCE OF ANTHRAX AND METHODS OF CONTROL. 
Anthrax is a disease that is widely spread throughout the world, 
and in the United States it is being recognized as one of the most 
destructive scourges of live stock. In certain sections it is more 
prevalent than in others, particularly in the Southern States, and 
since no determined effort has been made toward its suppression it 
appears to be on the increase, its presence now being recorded in 
localities where it has never before been recognized. 
As the spores of the causative agent of anthrax retain their 
virulence and remain lodged in the soil in an active state for many 
years in the infected localities, it is very difficult to prevent the 
spread of the infection, and the eradication of the disease is thereby 
rendered a most serious problem. 
Various factors have to be considered in the prophylactic control 
of anthrax, such as the prevention of the continued impregnation of 
1 The author was ably assisted in the technical part of this work by Dr. Raymond A. Kelser, assistant 
in pathology and bacteriology, to whom credit is due for the painstaking and careful execution of the 
details of the experiments. 
Note.— This bulletin is of interest to stock raisers and veterinarians generally, 
14044°— 15 ^1 
