142 THE DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 



varia, in 1875, 8 persons died of rabies. (Bollinger, loc. cit., page 

 600.) 



"Dr. Hermann, of St. Petersburg, gives quite an interesting 

 paper on the ' Nature of Hydrophobia and its Treatment,' in the 

 ' St. Petersburg medicinische Zeitschrift ' for 1875. From it we 

 learn that rabies is on the increase among the dogs of Russia, and 

 consequently among human beings. From tables given by him it 

 may be observed that, in 1863, the reported cases of rabid dogs 

 were 8, suspected 7, while the number of people who perished from 

 hydrophobia was only 3. From that year up to 1874 there has been 

 a varying increase, until, in that year, 49 people were bitten by 

 rabid dogs, 12 by suspected dogs, 74 by diseased dogs, and 268 by 

 healthy dogs, while the number of people who died from hydro- 

 phobia was 8. Altogether, in twelve years, 2,724 people were re- 

 ported as having been bitten by dogs, of which 1,895 were healthy, 

 103 suspected, 198 rabid, and 528 affected with various diseases. 

 In St. Petersburg during that period, 25 people perished from hy- 

 drophobia, and 22 in the Oberhoft Hospital." * 



The Registrar- General's report, of Great Britain, gives 74 deaths 

 as taking place in England in 1874 from the bites of rabid dogs.f 



Hydrophobia caused the death of 47 persons in England in 

 1875. The "Lancet" remarks: "It is an undoubted fact that hy- 

 drophobia has been increasingly fatal in England in recent years. 

 The annual death-rate from this disease, to a million living, which, 

 according to the Registrar-General's report, did not exceed 0*3 in 

 the five years 1860-65, rose successively to 0*9 and 1-8 in the two 

 succeeding quinquennials, and further increased to 2 per million 

 in 1875. In London six deaths from hydrophobia were registered, 

 both in 1875 and 1876 ; and in the first twenty-nine weeks of 1877, 

 ending July 21st, nine cases had already been recorded." ^ 



Hydrophobia in France. 



" It is one of the duties of a French prefect to give information 

 of the particulars of every case of hydrophobia in his department ; 

 but, as may be supposed, these political servants very often neglect 

 a matter which has so little party interest. For eight years, 1869-77, 

 only thirty-five out of eighty-six departments returned replies to the 

 official inquiries. Of these, however, Dr. Proust, in his own name, 

 and that of Professor Bouley, has recently issued an interesting report. 

 Their statements show that only one half of the persons bitten by 



* " Veterinary Journal," vol. ii, p. 216. f " Veterinary Journal," vol. iv. 



} Loc. cit., vol. v, p. 385. 



