One hundred consecutive cases of cutaneous anthrax, occurring over an eight month period, are studied. An epizootic in livestock occurring during a period of severe drought was quickly followed by an increase in the human cases, so that no than 42 cases occurred in the fourth month of observation. Of the 100 cases, 31 occurred in children under 10 years old, and 41 in wales aged 10 to 29.The site of the lesion was usually the exposed skin of the head and neck, or upper 1imbs, these sites being more or less equally affected and accounting for over three-quarters of the recorded lesions. The upper 1imbs were more frequently affected in patients who had butchered diseased animals, but it was noted that no lesions occurred on the palmar surface of the hands, or on the soles of tbe feet. Although a history of contact with animals which died was frequently obtained, a history of skin trauma was never obtained. Intramuscular penicillin was effective in all cases, although improvement was not immediate ; there were no fatalities. Respiratory stridor was present in 2 cases, but usually the disease was relatively mild. The mode of transmission of anthrax from livestock to man, and simple but effective measures for its control in a rural community are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:542867 |
| Date | January 1975 |
| Creators | Martin, Graham |
| Contributors | Wright, Frederick |
| Publisher | University of Dundee |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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