No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 157 



covered with blood, shreds of lirbin or mucous. The course of the 

 disease is usually short, varying from twelve hours to a week, and 

 it terminates in death in nearly all cases. On post-mortem examina- 

 tion it is observed that the tissues beneath the skin in the region of 

 the throat are intiltrated with serum aud that scattered through this 

 infiltrated area there are many points of haemorrhage; sometimes 

 the haemorrhage is extensive causing the entire infiltrated area to 

 be of a red color. This swelling about the throat usually involves 

 the walls of the piharynx and larynx. The root of the tongue is often 

 swollen and infiltrated with yellow serum. Points of haemorrhage 

 may be observed beneath the skin on any part of the body. Some- 

 times the lungs show evidence of haemorrhage into them and there 

 is an accumulation of blood in the chest cavity. If the intestines 

 are involved there is haemorrlhage into large or small areas of the 

 wall causing it to be of dark red color and considierably thickened. 

 The appearance of the blood is not materially altered; it coagulates 

 in the usual way. The most characteristic alterations are the points 

 of haemorrhage indicating an escape of blood from the vessels into 

 the subcutaneous connective tissues and into the lining membranes of 

 the adbominal and thoracic cavities and into the swollen areas about 

 the throat and at the root of the tongue. Young or old cattle may 

 be afflicted by this disease. 



The cause of haemorrhagic septicaemia is a bacillus that was dis- 

 covered by Kitt in 1885. This organism has since been studied by 

 numerous bacteriologistis in various parts of the world and has been 

 identified as the cause of this disease in Italy, France, Algiers and 

 Denmark as well as in Germany. In 1891, it was shown by Brim- 

 hall and Wilson to be the cause of a disease occuring among the cat- 

 tle of Minnesota that they proved to be identical with tihe German 

 '^Rinderseuche.'' It is somewhat difiicult to obtain primary cultures 

 of this germ from the blood or tissues of an afflicted animal; special 

 culture methods have to be employed. 



This disease may readily be mistaken for anthrax, black quarter or 

 some kind of forage poisoning. In anthrax the bacteriological ex- 

 amination readily established the diagnosis and removes all doubt. 

 In black quarter the swelling is not likely to be confined to the re- 

 gion of the throat and head as in this disease, but is likely to in- 

 volve the side of the body or one of the legs. Moreover, the swelling 

 is not tense and hard as in haemorrhagic septicamia or spotted 

 fever, but is soft, elastic and crackles upon pressure. WTien cut 

 into, the swelling of black-leg is found to contain a very dark, 

 frothy fluid. Forage poisoning can be recognized only by taking 

 into careful consideration the history of each case and the local con- 

 ditions. Perliaps the most common form of forage poisoning of 



