Let’s talk about anthrax. Not the weaponized version that people were sending in the mail, but the original version that is a not-uncommon soil contaminant.
You or your cow or your sheep [one of anthrax’s other names is woolsorter’s disease] eat or breathe in the Bacillus anthracis spores — which, again, are in soil everywhere — and the bacteria realize they’re in the perfect environment to multiply, and go wild. If you get antibiotics quickly, it’s treatable, but otherwise…
My large animal medicine textbook, at the beginning of the “Necropsy Findings” section says
It is recommended that a necropsy not be performed on a carcass suspected of having anthrax.
Bradford P. Smith, “Large Animal Internal Medicine” 3rd edition
There’s a really good reason for that. If the carcass is left untouched, most of the bacteria inside die off. But if the bacteria are exposed to air, they realize the jig is up and they form hardy spores so they can wait for the perfect conditions to come along again. Anthrax spores can survive for decades.
So, if you think it’s anthrax, you’re not supposed to do a necropsy. But how are you supposed to know it’s anthrax?
Again my textbook tries to be helpful.
Anthrax should be considered… when an animal is suddenly found dead after having been observed in apparent good health during the preceding 24 hours.
Bradford P. Smith, “Large Animal Internal Medicine” 3rd edition
So yeah. If you thought your sheep was healthy yesterday, and it’s suddenly dead today, it could be anthrax. On the other hand, a healthy animal that drops dead is the exact situation in which you might want to do a necropsy.
Anyhow, let’s send a kind thought to the pathology resident who got a cow in for necropsy and opened it on the path floor, cut into the spleen, and only after black tarry stuff started oozing everywhere, had the “oops, this is really bad” thought. I’m not sure how they cleaned the room or how long it took to decontaminate, but I can guarantee that particular pathologist never left anthrax off the list of possibilities ever again.
Fun Facts Friday is a new feature on the blog in which I talk about something I think is interesting. It will likely skew heavily toward veterinary medicine (because there’s so much cool stuff!), but I’ll stay away from any graphic images.
