Swine Flay lie. 489 



things. The animals were apparently well when partaking of their 

 morning meal. Within two hours 40 pigs died, and the post mortem 

 examination made l)y me revealed the cause of the mortality to be 

 swine plague. The specific bacillus was detected in the lymphatic 

 glands of the animals that died so suddenly, and pure cultures were 

 made from the glands. 



In fact many cases have occurred in which animals have died 

 unexpectedly. It may occur in a large run of cases that only a very 

 small number will be visibly diseased some time before death. 

 Animals may be in a bad way and be a source of infection for others 

 without showing any signs of illness on a casual inspection. 



In the pig the illness usually begins suddenly, and it may be 

 ushered in with fits of shivering. Weakness also may come on early, 

 and the affected pig may be seen lying bm-ied in his bedding and 

 scarcely resents being disturbed. He hides under his bedding to 

 avoid the light and to get away from his companions. He evinces 

 perhaps no inclination to move at efforts being made to get him to 

 stand. It is noticed that he is dejected in his looks and that his tail 

 hangs limp and his ears droo}). When he moves there is staggering 

 in the gait and weakness in the hind limbs. Vomiting may be 

 present, and, Avhen present, it appears early in the course of the 

 disease. There is loss of appetite and it is difficult sometimes to get 

 the sick animal to take food. The bowels become loose and offensive. 

 The number of dejections per day in the great run of cases may not 

 be increased to any extent, but in some few others they may. The 

 dejecta may in some few cases even be bloodstained. There may be 

 frequent urination, and this symptom should excite suspicion. The 

 animals when suffering from swine plague are very thirsty, and may 

 be seen drinking freely. 



There may be a running from the eyes and nose. Early, it is a 

 thin fluid, but later, it becomes muco-purulent and may stick about 

 the orifices of the organs concerned. 



The disease being characterised by a pneumo-enteritic condition, 

 the symptoms generally are of a decidedly grave character. The 

 fever may be high. It is not uncommon to find the temperature 

 rising to 106 deg. (normal 103 deg.) The pneumonia is generally of 

 the croupous type, and extensive tracts of one or both lungs may be 

 involved in the morbid process. When both lungs are involved the 

 symptoms are profoundly aggravated. It may occasionally happen 

 that the pneumonia is of the catarrhal type, and the symptoms then, 

 on the part of the lungs, may not be of so grave a character. 



In pneumonia there is cough, and in severe cases there is 

 difficulty of breathing and rattling in the throat. On auscultatino- 

 the chest, when the lungs are in the consolidation stage, loud 

 bronchial breathing is heard. At a later stage, when softening of 

 the lungs has occurred, loud moist sounds are present, and there may 

 then be a discharge from the nostrils and mouth. Involvement of 

 the pleura is not uncommon, and breathing then is painful, and 



