492 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



HOG CHOLERA. 



BY GEO. A. WATERMAN. CONSULTING VETERINARIAN. 



Bulletin 157. — Veterinary Department. 



Inasmuch as a large number of letters have been received asking for 

 information concerning hog cholera, and also by reason of the fact that 

 the disease is becoming quite prevalent throughout the State, it has been 

 thought best that a bulletin be published upon the subject. The bulletin 

 is a compilation of material from various sources and not from original 

 work done by the writer. The reports from the Department of Agricul- 

 ture at Washington, D. C, also bulletins from the Experiment Stations 

 of Indiana, Iowa, Arkansas, Nebraska and other states, have been con- 

 sulted. 



Hog cholera, a disease peculiar to swine, has existed in this country 

 to a greater or less extent for the past fifty years. It may appear 

 at any time of year, although perhaps it is most often met with in 

 autumn. There is another disease called swine plague which very 

 closely resembles hog cholera in its effects and without doubt is often 

 mistaken for it. At other times it is found associated with hog cholera, 

 both diseases existing in the same herd, or even in the same animal. In- 

 asmuch, however, as the results of the two diseases are about the same it 

 is of little practical importance, whether we differentiate between them 

 or not. Hog cholera attacks animals of all ages, but at times older hogs 

 seem to be able to withstand the disease better than pigs. 



CAUSE. 



The cause of hog cholera is the introduction into the body, through 

 some avenue, of the specific germ of the disease, which is known as the 

 hog cholera bacillus. For a short description of germs in general, what 

 they are, and what they do, I would refer the reader to Bulletin No. 

 13S. The virus in this disease gains entrance into the body through 

 the digestive tract with the food or water, or it may enter through the 

 lungs with the air. Fresh wounds may also at times furnish an oppor- 

 tunity for its entrance. Inasmuch as the theory of spontaneous genera- 

 tion of bacteria, as well as of other forms of life, has been exploded 



