148 



THE VITAMINES 





health. Cattle growers know that the condition of the legs in horses 

 depends upon the fodder and largely on the nature of the soil. Place 

 (438) believed he saw among cattle not only diseases similar to beri- 

 beri but also scurvy-like conditions in cattle, horses and sheep, 

 infantile scurvy in calves and sheep, and diseases of the type of 

 pellagra, with skin and gastro-intestinal symptoms. 



Stijfziekte and lamziekte. These diseases of cattle and goats occur 

 widely in South Africa, and are described by Theiler (439). These 

 conditions, particularly lamziekte, have become of such economic 

 importance that a great number of well-known investigators have 



occupied themselves with this problem. 

 In some severely affected districts, the 

 lamziekte problem has become so acute 

 that it no longer pays to breed cattle 

 because of the great mortality. Of 

 the two diseases, stijfziekte has been 

 least investigated, apparently because 

 of its lesser practical importance. It 

 is a bone disease of young animals, 

 accompanied primarily by swelling of 

 the joints, the metatarsals and meta- 

 carpals, and secondarily, the epiphyses 

 of the long bones. These swellings are 

 painful and since the fore-legs are most- 

 affected, the animal tries, as far as 

 possible, not to use them, and runs 

 around with forward-bent hind legs 

 and hunched back. Muscular weak- 

 ness and abnormal appetite (pica) are 

 among some of the symptoms of the disease. The temperature 

 remains normal. The diaphyses of the diseased bones, on sectioning, 

 appear deep red and blotched with bloody-serous liquid. 



Some forms of stijfziekte resemble lamziekte very much, without 

 necessarily indicating a relationship between the two, in the opinion 

 of Theiler, Green and Viljoen (I.e. 278). Theiler admitted that 

 stijfziekte might be an avitaminosis. If this were so, it would help 

 clear up the problem of lamziekte, since it could serve as a proof that 

 the nourishment of cattle in some sections of South Africa could be 

 improved. As it happens, stijfziekte may be cured by a change of 



FIG. 36. STIJFZIEKTE (THEILER) 



