Evening star., 1915-11-14
Triumph for Science in Combating Anthrax

can carry on his proboscic VIII cause
the death of horse. Nevertheless,
Sobernheim has. by means OF repeated
injections from cultures of gradually
increasing virulence. produced so high
a degree of immunity in a horse that
more than pint of the strongest an
thraX culture which could be procured
was injected into him with no injurious
result One ten-thousandth part OF
this. if administered before treatment.
would have killed him.
The bureau of animal industry has
been seeking a satisfactory method Tor
vaccinating against anthrax. From
several horses satisfactory serum was
obtained. This is the serum which was
sent TO MIR. Stackpole aud the five other
patients
cine to be used when the serum is in-
jected. For this purpose "A satisfao-
tory vaccine. the spore form of the or
ganism in saline solution. has been
prepared. This has far better keeping
qualities than the Pasteur vaccine, and
may be SO standardized that definite
number of spores for each dose can he
established.
Experiments at the station at Beth
esda, Md, show that with this treat
ment the animal which is handled only
once becomes immune almost imme-
diately upon vaccination.
Dr. Walter W. Alleger, emeritus pro-
fessor of bacteriology, Howard Uni
versity, gives an interesting sketch
of the dangers arising from anthrax
in men and other animals. and the dis
covery and isolation of its bacillus and
spore. lie says:
Anthrax is very prevalent in rus
STA. France, Germany, Austro-H Hungary,
India and Persia. II is relatively infre-
ENGLAND n
North America, but there is no country
on the face of the globe where il does
not prevail to some extent. At certain
pointS-for example, .huVergne. France,
and the Bavarian Alps-it is regular rly
so prevalent that such places are
spoken of as anthrax districts, while
i'll Russia, where it rs quite general. it
is known as the Siberian plague An
times prevails is conveyed by the
knowledge that in Russia as many as
1900 horses have died from it in a
single year.
anthrax is caused by the invasion of
the body by the Bacillus anthracls a
vegetable parasite, and its spores. The
disease affects chiefly sheep and cat
tie; to a less extent goats swine
horses and wild animals Algerian
sheep. cats. dogs. white rats and most
birds are relatively immune. Man oc-
cupies a position midway between the
two groups as regards susceptibility.
guinea pigs. rabbits and gray rats are
susceptible in the order named. Chick
ems. ordinarily immune, become sus-
ceptible if the lower part of their
bodies are kept in cold water until
their temperature is lowered two or
three degrees. They are restored to
health by bringing their temperature
back to normal. Per contra, frogs. also
naturally immune, become susceptible
by keeping them in water slightly
warmed. If they are kept in cold water
under natural conditions. after the
bacilli have been injected into their
blood-stream, the phagocytes (white
blood corpuscles) attack the bacilli
and carry them from the circulation.
as strong home guard drives out q
body of invaders.
Various names have been applied to
the disease, such as pustula, by the
Greek and Roman veterinarians; Per-
sian fire, by the Arabians: charbon, by
the French; milZbrand, by the Ger
mans. wool sorters disease, by the
English; splenic fever, malignant pus-
tule, etc.
There are three portals through one
of which the bacilli commonly enter
the body, the skin, the air passages
and the alimentary canal The first is
the more frequent way in human
beings. the third in animals.