No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUI^TURE. Ill 



ropean countries, and notably in England. The success of the Eng- 

 lish authorities in completely exterminating rabies has been most 

 inslructiye. It serves to demonstrate conclusively that rabies is not 

 a disease that originates spontaneously, but that it is propagated 

 wholly by infection from diseased animals. Of course it was not 

 necessary to await the extermination of rabies in England from a 

 long continued and long enforced muzzling order to come to these 

 conclusions, but this added proof ought to be of some service in 

 convincing those people who hold aberrant views on rabies as to 

 the accuracy of the conclusions of veterinarians in regard to the 

 modes of origin and distribution of this disease. Attention has 

 been called in previous reports to the difficulty that has been ex- 

 perienced in connection with the control of rabies as a result of the 

 amazing views in regard to this disease that originate from unre- 

 liable sources ctnd that have been disseminated by some papers 

 Fortunately, the newspapers have not given these false doctrines so 

 much publicity as they formerly received. During the past year, 

 however, statements have been circulated to the effect that there is 

 no such disease as rabies, or, if there is such a disease, that it is very 

 rare and of little importance. These statements spring from jjeople 

 who claim to be interested in the welfare of animals and who en- 

 deavor to convince the public that there is less harm in permitting 

 rabies to run its course than in the measures that are adopted to 

 check it. Such teachings are exceedingly dangerous, because they 

 tend to disorganize public sentiment, to upset the views of poorly 

 informed people as to the need for certain measures adopted for the 

 purpose of repressing rabies, and they tend to retard people that 

 are exposed to rabies from taking the precautions and treatment 

 that may be necessary in order to enable them to escape infection. 

 The question is sometimes asked: "Do you believe in rabies?" as 

 though the question were one of philosophy or religion. It is as 

 sensible to inquire: Do you believe in smallpox, or do you believe in 

 wheat. The existence of one can be as completely demonstrated as 

 the existence of the other. There is no more room for doubt as to 

 the existence of rabies than doubt as to the existence of any other 

 definite disease as measles or typhoid fever or any physical object. 



Rabies is a disease that occurs chiefly in dogs. It is characterized 

 by a variable period of incubation, usually occurring within 12 to 

 30 days, by symptoms expressive of derangement of the nervous sys- 

 tem and including some paralysis of the throat, by altered demeanor, 

 irritability, a tendency to roam and, at times, to attack animals and 

 people; at such times the animal may be overcome by an uncontrol- 

 lable impulse to bite, but these paroxysms are intermittent. The 

 disease terminates in most cases within five days. Death is preceded 

 by great weakness and by local, and, later, by general paralysis. 

 After death, certain well marked and highly characteristic altera- 

 tions are found in the central nervous system. The disease is com- 

 municable by inoculation with certain tissues or fluids of the dis- 

 eased animal. Experiments have shown that the most virulent por- 

 tions of the body are the central nervous system and the glands. 

 The secretion from the salivary irlands contains the infective prin- 

 ciples of the disease and when saliva is implanted in a wound, as oc- 

 curs when a rabid dog bites an animal or person, this implantation 

 may result in the infection of the animal so exposed. All 



