207 



animals were vaccinated. During the same period the total number 

 of deaths had increased to 120 head. Of these, between thirty and 

 forty were examined post-mortem, while a total of twenty-four sick 

 animals were treated with curative serum. 



Oji the tenth day after beginning vaccination, the disease had been 

 practically cheeked. Only one case occurred subsequently, and that 

 was not until the 27th or 28th, and was possibly an animal which had 

 escaped vaccination. 



NATURE OF THE DISEASE. 



Hemorrhagic septicemia is an acute inflammatory disease character- 

 ized by the appearance of bloody exudations under the skin and in the 

 various organs of the bod3\ Gelatinous swellings and exudations are 

 also found in most cases. As a rule the disease attacks either the tho- 

 racic organs or else the abdominal form may be the initial one. 



In the first case, there is a croupous pneumonia, which speedily puts 

 an end to the animal's life, the disease lasting only a few hours. In 

 the abdominal form there is extensive hemorrhagic inflammation of the 

 intestines, especially the small intestine, though sometimes even the 

 fourth or true stomach may be found filled entirely with blood. In 

 some cases both forms occur simultaneously and the animal rarely sur- 

 vives for more than twelve hours. 



Later in an outbreak the disease becomes less acute, the animals liv- 

 ing from three to four days and perhaps longer. In these cases, curative 

 treatment may be resorted to, but of the twenty-four animals which 

 were treated during this outbreak, not more than six survived and all 

 of them came under treatment at the time when the symptoms were 

 just beginning to manifest themselves. This fact would indicate that 

 the outbreak was of an extremely virulent nature, and while it was 

 impossible to say how many animals would have died if they had not 

 been vaccinated so promptly, it is safe to surmise that the number of 

 deaths would have greatly exceeded the 120 head recorded. 



INFECTIOUS ABORTION ON MAUI. 



On the 19th instant, a wireless was received from the Deputy Ter- 

 ritorial Veterinarian on Maui requesting my presence without delay. 

 As there was a possibility of catching the S. S. ''Kilauea'^ at Kea- 

 lakekua Bay, I left Naalehu the following day, having previously ar- 

 ranged for interviews with cattlemen throughout Koua. I learned on 

 my way that while a good many cattle had died there on account of 

 the drought, no cases of any disease resembling hemorrhagic septicemia 

 had been noticed. As most of the dead animals had been skinned, the 

 owners could not have failed to notice the characteristic bloody spots 

 under the hide, and I am therefore inclined to believe that the disease 

 so far has confined itself to the Naalehu district. 



On Maui an outbreak of infectious abortion among the milch cows 

 in one of the largest dairies on the island had caused considerable alarm, 

 and as this disease is one of very recent origin in these islands, the 

 owners were anxious to have the diagnosis confirmed and to obtain 

 advice as to treatment and prevention. I am pleased to report, however, 

 that Dr. Fitzgerald had taken every precaution possible to prevent the 

 further spread of the disease and that he had the situation well in 

 hand. After visiting a number of dairies from Haiku to Lahaina with 

 him, I returned to Honolulu. 



On May 30, I was advised by the manager of the Hutchinson Plan- 

 tation Companj' that only the one case above referred to had occurred 

 since my departure, and that the epidemic seemed to be completely 

 checked. This report has at the present writing been confirmed by Dr. 



