REPORT OF THE VETERINARIAN, 

 Bv W. REID BLAIR, D.V.S. 



THE annual death rate is greatly influenced by the condition 

 in which the new animals are received. During the past 

 year an unusual number of monkeys, such as sapajous and mar- 

 mosets, were presented. On examination many of these were 

 found to be in the last stages of "cage paralysis," or were so 

 otherwise diseased and emaciated as to be unfit for exhibition in 

 our cages. There were a number of tubercular cases among those 

 presented. Of the animals acquired in this way seventeen died 

 or were destroyed while under quarantine control, so that this 

 number might fairly be excluded from figuring in our death rate 

 for 1907. 



Distemper. — For the first time in several years we have had a 

 considerable number of distemper cases, all of which, however, 

 were confined to the animals in the Small-Mammal collection. 

 The disease first apeared in a South American wild dog, a recent 

 arrival, confined in the Small-Mammal House. Within a week's 

 time more than a dozen cases were found, affecting a hyaena dog. 

 South American wild dogs, coati mundi, squirrels, civit cat and 

 desert foxes. 



All the infected animals were immediately isolated, and the 

 cages thoroughly disinfected daily with steam and a creolin solu- 

 tion. These measures succeeded in confining the disease to the 

 north end of the building. In practically all of the cases con- 

 junctival congestion was one of the earliest and most constant 

 symptoms — swollen eyelids and red mucosa, with weeping. 

 Within twenty-four hours the watery tears became muco-purulent, 

 matting together the lashes and eyelids. 



Diarrhea set in early, and the fecal discharges, at first black 

 and pasty, soon became mixed with mucus, and even blood. The 

 abdomen was tense and contracted ; and weakness and prostration 

 came rapidly. Several of the cases showed marked nervous 

 symptoms from the beginning of the attack. These were par- 

 ticularly pronounced in the case of the hyaena dog, as well as 

 in both Azara dogs. The animals were very restless, frequently 

 getting up and moving about, twitching the muscles of the face 

 and limbs and rolling the eyes. Epileptic attacks appeared in the 



