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23
Six were employed at a tanyard in Bermondsey, five being
attacked about the same time. The remaining two had a
relative who worked at the same tanyard.
At one of the wharves there had been a very large
consignment of China goat skins, and at the time one of
the men there was attacked preparations were being made
for the sale of 60,000 of these skins.
In all the cases the patients had been manipulating China
goat skins within a few days of their attack, and in several
cases other skins and hides as well.
Experience has shown that there is much greater risk of
contracting the disease from handling "dry" skins than
wet," and especially those having long hair, like goat skins.
The cause of the disease is the well-known anthrax
bacillus. As long as these bacilli remain in the blood of an
animal they multiply by fission, that is division of the rods
as they increase in length. The same thing holds good in
the dead body as long as it remains intact, but when the
blood is shed, and thus brought into contact with oxygen,
seeds or spores, as they are generally called, are very rapidly
formed within the bacilli.
These seeds or spores as distinguished from the bacilli
are very difficult to kill.
These facts help to explain the reason why "dry" hides
are more dangerous than "wet" hides. For in "wet" hides
infected with the anthrax organisms the moisture prevents
the bacilli (which have been produced either by fission or
germination of spores) from being brought into contact with
oxygen, and therefore no spores are formed within them, and
the bacilli consequently easily succumb to hostile influences.
On the other hand in "dry" hides, even if the spores