Second review of some of the advances in tropical medicine, hygiene and veterinary science, being a supplement to the fourth report of the Wellcome Tropical Reseach Laboratories at the Gordon Memorial College, Khartoum : by Andrew Balfour and R.G. Archibald.

  • Balfour, Andrew.
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: Second review of some of the advances in tropical medicine, hygiene and veterinary science, being a supplement to the fourth report of the Wellcome Tropical Reseach Laboratories at the Gordon Memorial College, Khartoum : by Andrew Balfour and R.G. Archibald. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

    18/458 (page 14)
    Anthrax— In all countries except Great Britain agricultural anthrax is most common, and consequently there is a close , relation between the number of cases of human and animal anthrax. Again : Infection may be carried in continue clothes or nails to people outside by workers. Anthrax spores may retain their vitality for years on hair and other material. Anthrax is common among animals aU over Europe and Asia, and in most countries there is an increased incidence during the hot summer months. It is probable that in certain districts special conditions exist which make them permanent centres of anthrax infection. Here, too, hides and hair from contact with the soil may possibly become infected without the animals actually contracting anthrax. Part II. deals with questions of bacteriology, disinfection and treatment. It is pointed out that in the bacteriological diagnosis difficulties are met with in animal inoculation omng to the presence of the bacillus of malignant oedema, which, unless special methods are used, as shown by Duncan, will often mask the presence of the anthrax bacillus altogether. When agar plates are used, three types of bacilli, one of which may be B. suhtilis, that occur in hair and bristles and closely resemble anthrax bacilli, may lead to difficulties. Their presence, however, is to be regarded as beneficial, and Page suggests they may yet be used along with cultures of true anthrax bacilh to produce immunity. He also remarks that it may be possible to ehminate the anthrax bacillus from horsehair by increasing the quantity of an antagonistic bacillus, for example B. oedematis maligni. At present there is no method of absolutely destroying anthrax spores in horsehair and bristles, but the use of steam under sUght pressure, 4 or 5 lb. to the square inch, greatly minimises the risk to the human subject. An intermittent sterilisation is indicated, as the spores then develop into bacilli and are killed in the latter condition. The steam must not be so damp as to injure the material or too dry to be efficacious as a germicide. Of hquid disinfectants cyUin (1 in 100) at a temperature not above 120° F. is best, though not absolutely effective. As regards treatment, the cautery and subcutaneous injection of serum (Sclavo's or Sobernheim's) is advisable in all cases. In internal anthrax early intravenous injection of serum is essential. Herley ^ records eight cases of human external anthrax in which Sclavo's serum was employed with benefit, and indeed one was a malignant case in which recovery was undoubtedly due to the serum. Baldrey ^ has found in India a sporulating organism simulating B. anthracis, and which may be the cause of some of the gangrenous sloughing wounds so common in cattle. He compares its morphology and cultural characteristics with those of the anthrax bacillus. Mitter ^ deals with the staining reactions of anthrax bacilli in India as compared with those in Europe. He finds a difference. Thus M'Fadyean's pecuHar staining reaction with methylene blue, which consists of a deposit of amorphous granules of a more or less polychromatic character between and around the bacilli is, in India, not sufficiently marked to be diagnostic. The methods of Johne and Olt for staining the capsules were, however, found effective. Cave,* who has used M'Fadyean's method in England, finds it quite rehable, but recommends dispensing with Canada balsam and a cover-glass, as when these are used the colour quickly fades. Perhaps liquid paraffin, as recommended by Coles, would make a good mounting medium. The use of skin cultures as a means of diagnosis, especially for isolating the bacillus from putrefying cadavers, has been introduced by Ciuca and Stoicescu,^ who conclude— (1) That B. anthracis does not live longer than 48 hours in the vegetative form in the cadavers of animals dead of anthrax, owing to the putrefaction which takes place : in the capillaries of the skin it resists for a longer time, and can find the conditions necessary for sporulation there. (2) The spores remain in a condition resistant to atmospheric conditions and common salt for a year in the skin. (3) Diagnosis is always possible by means of cultures of the skin of putrefied carcases sent to the laboratory extended on plaques of wood and allowed to dry. 1 Herley, R. (December 4, 1908), Eight Cases of External Anthrax. Lancet. 2 Baldrey, F. S. H. (1910), An Organism simulating Anthrax. Journal Tropical Veterinary Science, Vol. v.. No. 4. 3 Mitter, S. N. (1909), Observations on some Staining Peculiarities of Anthrax Bacilli. Ihid, Vol. IV., No. 1. ^ Cave, T. W. (December, 1908), The Methylene Blue Staining Reaction with Anthrax Blood. Journal Comparative Pathology and Therapeutics. ^ Ciuca, A., and Stoicescu, G. (1910), The Bacteriological Diagnosis of Charbon by Cultures of the Skin. Journal Tropical Veterinary Science, Vol. V., No. 2; translated from Archiva Veterinaria, Vol. VI.