73 



S. S. Matsonia, San Francisco: 1 dog, Mrs. W. D. Pelton, c|o 

 W. F. X. Co. ; 1 dog, Mrs. F. D. Sinclair. 



Respectfully submitted, 



Leonard N. Case, 

 Assistant Territorial \^eterinarian. 



RABIES IN NEVADA. 



The wisdom of requiring a four months' quarantine on all 

 dogs coming to this Territory from a rabies-infested region to 

 prevent the introduction of this dreaded disease into these 

 Islands, where it would undoubtedly run a calamitous course, is 

 fully justified by the distressing experience which the State of 

 Nevada is now having on account of the ravages of this disease. 



The report of the State Board of Stock Commissioners of 

 Nevada for 1915 and 1916 gives in detail an account of the havoc 

 which rabies has wrought in that State since its introduction in 

 April, 1915, and the following paragraphs point out some of the 

 troubles which Nevada is having on account of this disease. 



''The introduction of rabies into the State and its dissemina- 

 tion over wide areas is the most serious matter of the kind 

 Nlevada has ever been called upon to face. The nature of the 

 disease and the manner in which it is spread renders its control 

 exceedingly difficult and its complete eradication in a State like 

 Nevada practically impossible. The menace to human life and 

 the extensive loss of live stock from this disease makes its in- 

 troduction and dissemination a calamity. 



''Rabies is a specific infectious disease to which human beings 

 and all animals are susceptible. Once it develops it is invariably 

 fatal. It is spread naturally by the bites of infected animals. A 

 person or animal bitten by a rabid animal is likely to be infected, 

 but not invariably. When human beings are bitten through 

 clothing or animals through their hair infection may not occur, 

 but such bites must be regarded as dangerous. A bite upon 

 unprotected portions of the body is very likely to result in in- 

 fectioi]. Human beings may also be infected by the introduction 

 of saliva or other glandular secretions or of nerve tissue into 

 already existing wounds. Care must be exercised by persons 

 dealing with infected animals or their carcasses to avoid in- 

 fection in these ways as well as against being bitten. 



"All animals which use their teeth as weapons of offense or 

 defense are natural spreaders of rabies. Coyotes, wild cats, dogs 

 and domesticated cats are responsible for most of the trans- 

 ference, although the danger from rabid horses, mules and hogs 

 is not to be overlooked. Cattle and sheep suffer equally with 

 other animals, but they are less likely to bite for anatomical 

 reasons. 



"After the symptoms of rabies develop there is no means for 



