According to the latest figures compiled by Dr. Paul C. Bennett, supervisor of the Iowa State Diagnostic Laboratory, there has been a sudden upsurge in the number of cases of anthrax in the state of Iowa. A survey of the diagnostic records from the years 1939 to 1950 shows that only six cases were definitely diagnosed as anthrax. A breakdown of these cases reveals that four occurred in swine and two in cattle. These figures do not include the years 1940 and 1941 since no report was available for this two year period.