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(b) Anthrax.
We received five Anthrax certificates from the Home
Office during the year, four of which proved to be
Anthrax. They all occurred at the same premises, which are
used for the purposes of a horse-hair factory. The firm is a
a large one, employing more than 130 persons. By the courtesy
of the firm I was enabled to inspect the premises, and the
various processes were explained to me. South American and
Russian hair (but not Chinese) is purchased, and examined on
delivery before being passed into the factory. The process,
briefly, consists in sorting, dyeing, washing, milling and curling.
Finally, the product is used for upholstery. During the process
the hair remains in boiling water for three hours, and for a further
period at a later stage. It would, therefore, appear that any
infection obtained from the hair was contracted anterior to the
process, and not during or after the process. Anthrax is a
disease of animals communicable to man. It is contracted by
means of the breath in respiration or by means of direct inoculation
through the skin. It is commonly acquired in the latter
instance by a man scratching or breaking a pimple on his skin
whilst his hands and fingers carry the infective dust. It should be
added that the firm in question appear to take all reasonable care
in conducting their business. They decline to purchase undyed
Mane Hair until satisfactory guarantee is given by the seller
that the hair has been thoroughly disinfected, and, moreover, the
hair is examined, under precautions, before it enters the factory.
Further, there are contrivances such as draft dust extractors for
reducing to a minimum the risk of sorters inhaling injurious
dust. Notwithstanding these arrangements, four cases of
Anthrax were certified during the year from this factory.
There were no other cases certified in Finsbury. The facts are,
briefly, these:—
I. F. B., 28 years old; living at Croydon; employed in this hair
factory as a clerk; handles bales of hair on delivery; on February
14th noticed a swelling on the right temple; on February 15th
patient was admitted to St. Bartholomew's Hospital and the
"malignant pustule" was removed, the patient making a good
recovery ; certified February 18th.