CONTAGIOUS DISEASE? OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. 479 



niatjou of the epidermis, accompauied by sliedctiiig of tlie Iiair ; (2) the producfciou of 

 small papiilie or nodosities, from which exudea a yellow viscid fluid which, in drying, 

 forms witti the hair crusts of variable thickness ; (3) the eruption of little vesicles 

 abont the mutHe, whose contents agglutiuate the hairs and gives rise to brownish- 

 yellow crusts; (4) the formation of pustules (the so-called "variola" of Kamozzini) 

 the size of a millet seed or small pea, frequently confluent, and when ruptured and. 

 their contents desiccated, producing friable, yellow, or bro^vn crusts, which adhere 

 very slightly to the skin. The duration of the eruption is variable, but in general ifc 

 does not entirely disappear until from two to four weeks after its manifestation. 



In some epizootics erysipelatous tumors have been remarked about the neck, dewlap, 

 or flank. Gas is also developed sometimes in the subcutaneous cellular tissue, ordi- 

 narily in the region of the loins, shoulders, sides, or neck, and in rare cases over the 

 entire surface of the body ; its presence is recognized by a more or less voluminoua 

 tumor, which crepitates on manipulation. 



The next day after the appearance of the peculiar eruption upou the 

 mucous membranes, there is a disinclination to eat and ruminate, aad 

 with cows a diminution and soon a total absence of milk. 



Two days after the manifestation of the above-described symptoms, 

 marked changes in the general appearance of the diseased animal are 

 apparent. It lies down very frequently ; when standing it draws the 

 hind legs forward as if suffering from colic. The look is distressed, the 

 head drooping, the ears hanging, the breathing oppressed ; the pulse 

 becomes rapid and weak, the discharges from the eyes, the nose, and the 

 mouth become thick and purulent, the breath fetid. The iris, which at 

 the commencement of the fever is generally inflamed and cherry red, 

 resumes its natural color with the increase of secretions from the lachry- 

 mal duct. Cows far advanced in pregnancy generally calve in this stage 

 of the disease. 



On the second or third day diarrhea sets in. The feces, at first thin 

 and watery, then thick and slimy, are &lled with detached masses from 

 the mucus surfaces, "^ery fetid and more or less tinged with blood. 

 When the diarrhea has lasted two or three days the disease advances 

 with rapid strides. The animal is so weak as not to be able to rise, the 

 evacuations of excrements are involuntary, the breathing is uneven 

 and rapid, the beatings of the heart are no longer perceptible, the pulse 

 becomes very feeble and the temperature rapidly fails. Death usually 

 occurs on the fifth day from the first visible signs of the disease. Some- 

 times the course of the disease is so rapid as to reach its culmination 

 within two days. 



On the average, 70 to 75 per cent, of the diseased animals die. Those 

 that survive have not had the disease in its most malignant form. Once 

 convalescent the anim.ols recover very fast, but the diarrhea continues 

 for several days after the disappearance of all other symptoms. 



In summer, when the cattle are grazing, the disease is less severe 

 than in winter, when they get dry fodder and are kept in close ^tables. 



The symptoms and progress of the disease are the same with goats 

 and sheep as with neat cattle, but the percentage of fatal cases is some- 

 what less. 



Many of the sym])toms of riDderi)est occur in the lung disease {pleuro- 

 pneumonia), the malignant catarrhal fever, and the mouth-and-foot dis- 

 ease. The lung disease is distinguished from the rinderpest by the ab- 

 sence of the characteristic eruptions upon the mucous membranes ; the 

 mvilignant catarrhal fever, by tlie dimness of the trans])arent cornea, 

 w^hieli in the rinderpest remains clear; the mouth-and-foot disease, by 

 the ulceration of the foot, the less degree of fever, and its i)ecnliarly 

 rapid spreading from one animal to entire herds. 



