Valorisation Patrimoine Sud Tarn
Panel 15
The "mal charbon" or anthrax infection, a deadly disease for fellmongers
This disease struck workers from the beginning of the fellmongery activity in Mazamet and quickly earned the nickname "mal charbon" (anthrax). Originally an animal disease primarily affecting sheep, it was common for sheepskins from major livestock countries in the South (Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa, Maghreb, Central Europe, or Spain) to be infected with the Bacillus anthracis bacterium. During the processing of these skins, particularly during tenderizing and fleshing, the anthrax bacterium contaminated workers through simple skin contact. Initially, a small bump would appear, which would develop into a malignant pustule. If not treated promptly and if the bacterium breached the skin barrier and entered the bloodstream, it caused septicemia in the individual, leading to death within about ten days.
Faced with the severity of the disease, Jean Cavaillé, Labor Inspector of Tarn, created a poster advocating essential preventive measures. He demanded the immediate cessation of processing implicated batches of skins, their destruction, and the cessation of commercial relations with the implicated suppliers unless new guarantees were provided. Additionally, he required disinfection of premises by washing floors, walls, and machinery, as well as whitewashing the walls.
The "mal charbon" disappeared by the late 1950s.
64 cases were recorded from January 1902 to October 1910.