Wool Sorter's Disease

a sort of blood poisoning, to which handlers of wool, alpaca, mohair, and similar substances are subject. Pustules appear on the arms. Death sometimes follows. The disease is thought to be due to a rod-shaped bacillus or bacterium known to medical men as anthrax. Sometimes the germs rise in the dust from the wool and are taken into the lungs. The rapid development of a poison often causes death. The germs may be killed by subjecting wool to heat for several hours, or by disinfecting it. Wool handlers may also be rendered immune by inoculation.