The Bulletin 7 



soon recover. From tliese animals the entire herd may hecome infected, 

 and this hcfore cholera is even suspected. 



In the chronic form we are more apt to be deceived, and this is es- 

 pecially so when there has been a previous outbreak cff an acute form 

 on the farm. This is so because in the chronic form the affected hogs 

 will linger along for weeks and sometimes for more than a month before 

 they finally die, or recover, as the case may be. But the acute form 

 usually wipes the entire herd out within a short time after it first gains 

 entrance in the herd. 



Among the first symptoms seen in hogs affected with cholera is a loss 

 of appetite, a tendency to hide in the litter or some secluded place and 

 if forced to get up they show a stiffness in their gait, as if they had 

 tender feet, and the back is usually more or less arched. At first there 

 is a tendency towards constipation Avhich is followed in a few days by a 

 very fetid diarrhea. In light skin hogs, and at times in dark skin hogs, a 

 red or purple discoloration of the skin can be detected along the belly 

 between the fore legs and at the base of the ears. This symptom is not 

 always present but is is frequently seen. When cholera is suspected, it is 

 well to secure a clinical thermometer and take the temperature of a num- 

 ber of those hogs that are eating and apparently well. 



"We frequently find in a herd where there has been one or more sick 

 hogs for several days a number of the hogs apparently well showing a 

 temperature as high as 104 to 107 degrees Fahrenheit, and even higher. 

 Hogs affected with cholera will often carry these high temperatures from 

 three to five days and appear to be entirely healthy, but are ready to 

 come down with an acute form of cholera. The normal temperature of 

 a hog is from 101 to 102 degrees Fahrenheit. 



Owing to the high temperature, lack of appetite and general depres- 

 sion, vomiting, thumps, quick or jerky breathing is frequent. The muco- 

 purulent secretion from the eyes often becomes so heavy that the eyelids 

 are adhered together, causing the hog to become blind. 



The most striking difference between the acute and chronic form of 

 cholera is the duration of the disease. In the chronic fonn the tempera- 

 ture is not so high. The hog may continue to eat a little every day but 

 becomes unthrifty and emaciated and may linger along in this condition 

 for three or four weeks before dying. The acute form ussually terminates 

 in death between the eighth and fourteenth day. 



When there is any doubt of the sick hogs being affected with cholera, 

 a post-mortem examination should be made on one of the sick hogs in 

 order to make an accurate diagnosis. 



Post-Mortem Appearances 



Skin — A close examination of the skin will show red or purple spots 

 along the belly, between the fore and hind legs and at the base of the ears; 

 this is especially so in light skin hogs. In chronic cases the skin may 



