No. 6. 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUJ.TURE. 



517 



J (nioie a table coniiiilcd by Dr. Salmon, Chief of the IJureau of 

 Auinial Industry, giving- the occurreuce of 14,0GG cases by mouths: 



Cases of Rabies in Dogs, by Months. 



p 



I 



a 







o 



Bourrel 



Saint Cyr 



Hogyt's 



Leblanc, 



France: 



1895 



1896, 



1897 



1898, 



Total, 



36 



12 



309 



103 



89 

 124 

 131 

 139 



31 

 15 



310 

 97 



155 

 138 

 151 

 148 



943 



1,045 



26 



6 



314 



121 



353 

 151 

 189 



960 



32 



15 



367 



192 



184 

 150 

 202 

 181 



32 

 13 



450 

 155 



181 

 147 

 225 

 216 



1,323 1,419 



35 

 1 



455 



1C4 



133 

 131 

 136 

 150 



1,145 



41 



3 



43S 



117 



110 

 125 

 131 



965 



24 



3 3 



95 



105 

 103 

 150 

 153 



933 



32 393 



2 87 



396 4,961 



100 1,492 



149 

 164 

 140 

 154 



1,692 

 1,687 

 1,973 

 1.781 



1,137 14,066 



The highest number of cases occurred in June, and the smallest 

 number in November. Taking the total result as given by this table, 

 in connection with the other figures quoted, it may be said that more 

 cases of rabies occur from April to September, inclusive, than during 

 the rest of the year. In giving a proper value to these figures it 

 must be noted that during the warm months of the year, dogs are 

 more apt to be running abroad, while during the winter months 

 they are more apt to be housed. In this way opportunities for 

 contagion are greater from April to September than from October 

 to March, and there is no evidence that of itself that season has any- 

 thing to do with the greater or less frequency of rabies. 



Erroneous Ideas Concerning Kabies. There is a rather wide- 

 spread belief that if a dog which has bitten a person ever goes 

 mad the bitten person is also liable to go mad, and this super- 

 stition leads to the useless destruction of a considerable number of 

 dogs. It probably has its origin in the fact that the virus is present 

 in the saliva for several days before symptoms of madness are 

 shown by the dog, and that certain persons have contracted hydro- 

 phobia following the bite of such an animal, which, at the time, 

 showed no symptoms of madness. It can be stated with the most 

 absolute certainty that the bite of a healthy dog, or a dog suffering 

 from fits, or when angered or excited, can produce no ill effects in 

 the bitten person other than that dependent on the extent of the 

 injury. Such wounds should be treated by modern antiseptic meth- 

 ods, cauterization being unnecessary. 



The Had Stone. Persons bitten by dogs strongly suspected of 

 rabies should at once take the advice of a competent physician, and 

 if the diagnosis is confirmed, go as rapidly as possible to some insti- 

 tution where the Pasteur treatment can be applied. No dependence 

 whatever can be placed upon the so-called ''mad-%tone«." 



