Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-09-12
A DEADLY DISEASE.

Anthrax, the Most Malignant Disease
Known to the Animal World, Found to
Exist Among Dairy Cattle In st. Louis
Communicable to Human Beings Through
Milk and Beef-symptoms of the Dis.
case.
Texas fever and anthrax exist among
the dairy cattle of ST. Louis, and the
board OF health is making every effort
to stamp out the diseases. Texas fever,
while extremely fatal among cattle
and dangerous to the general pu bic
health. is only in rare cases fatal to
human beings; but anthrax is far more
deadly, and not only kills cattle at an
alarming rate, but is communicable to
man, and its contraction by a human
being means sudden and horrible
death.
The disease among the cattle Louis
| is probably under control now, and
there is little danger from it at pres
ent. but if by any means it should be-
come contagious among people the
consequences would be too terrible to
imagine.
So deadly does DR.. James, veter-
marian engaged as an expert by the
city board of health, think the disease
that he has refused to make any more
post-mortems, as he says he takes his
life in his hands every time he does SO.
Knowing the deadly character of the
disease. the board took prompt and
vigorous action to wipe out the plague.
Anthrax is the most malignant dis
ease-Anown to the animal world. It
can be contracted by almost any spe-
PiQS 0f animal and tod !
means sure and quick death. 1t is
contracted by cattle which feed in
warm weather in bottom land, where
there is rank and luxuriant vegeta-
ton. Unlike Texas fever, the disease
is contracted directly from the food
consumed by the animal, and is not
disseminated by tick.
The bacilli of anthrax exist upon the
vegetation in low country, and gen.
crate with amazing rapidity. The eff
feet upon a COW which has partaken
OF the germ-bearing vegetation is inn
mediate. A sort of torpor comes over
the animal, the temperature is height
| ened, and the cow exhibits symptoms
not unlike those of the disease known
as staggers- There is a falling off in
the milk. and in few hours great
Jumps form all over the animals body.
These Jumps contain the bacilli of
anthrax by the million. At this stage
| if the hand be rubbed over the body
of the COW there is heard a cracking
sound, not unlike the rustling of
parchment. A few hours after these
Jumps appear they burst open and the
COW dies, although in most cases it
does not live SO long. In many cases
the cow drops dead while being MIXED.
This is considered very good sign of
anthrax even without making a post
mortem.
There is also species of anthrax no
less deadly, in which the disease is
confined entirely to the internal Or
eanism and does not appear in the
form of pustules.
The bacilli of anthrax may be COM
municated from one cow to another in
various ways. The saliva is the usual
mode of communication, although the
breath is a no less certain medium for
the spread of disease. So contagious
is it that in case where one COW of a
herd is attacked the others usually
Auccumb in short order.
post-mortem held upon a COW that
has died of anthrax shows the seat of
the disease to be located in the spleen,
which is usually swollen to twice its
normal size. This organ is founl to
be literally alive with the bacilli
anthracis. But as there are other dis
eases in which such an enlargement of
the spleen is noticeable, bacteriolog-
ical examination is necessary to identify
the bacilli as those of anthrax. 70 make
this examination it is necessary to OBJ
tain what psychologists call cultures.
These cultures are of two kinds, tube
cultures and plate cultures. The two
are obtained by much the same process,
the fundamental principle of each be-
ing the artificial breeding of the bacilli
in gelatin.
The bacilli, as they develop in the
gelatin, form colonies. and as each va
riety of bacillus forms a colony distinct
in construction and appearance, a mil
croscope readily determines whether
or not they are those of anthrax or
some other disease. When the bacilli
have developed far enough. guinea
pigs are inoculated with virus obtained
from the gelatin. This is the last and
SuToSC test, dS III INC cVcnG Oh duClTd4
being present the inoculated guinea
pig will die in less than twenty-four
hours. Upon being dissected the little
animals are found to be swarming with
the bacilli of anthrax. This test was
recently made in St Louis, and the
disease was found to exist in a most
virulent form.
But the most startling feature of the
disease is the fact that it is commu.
nicable in many ways to human beings,
ane when contracted is, according to
many specialists, incurable- The dis
ease can be contracted by eating the
meat of cattle which have died of an
thrax, by drinking the milk of cattle
afflicted with the disease or by coming
in contact with the saliva or pus bear
ing the bacilli- The person who con-
tracts the disease develops in an in.
credibly short time all the symptoms
of septicaemia- Then malignant car
buncles break out all over the body.
The popularity of the disease is tho
speed with which it develops. the VIC
tim as rule dying within forty-eight
hours in terrible agony.
John n. Boyd.
IL