304 3Ianaal of Veterinary 3Iicrohiology. 



transmission seems to be of very rare occurrence. 

 The virus is preserved only for a very short time in 

 external media, a circumstance which diminishes the 

 chances of its transportation; M. Galtier, however, 

 has pointed out the possibility of infection by the in- 

 tact ocular mucosa, and it is quite conceivable that 

 this might actually occur in man through tlie projec- 

 tion or transference of a virulent liquid to the eye. 

 Contamination by ingestion of the flesh coming from 

 a diseased animal appears to have occurred a certain 

 number of times in the dog (Zundell). Experimental 

 tests of this mode of infection have, however, given 

 only negative results. 



The disease is transmitted to the healthy individual 

 in nearly all cases by the bite of a rabid animal, such 

 bife being equivalent to an inoculation with virulent 

 saliva. Bites of carnivora (dog, cat, wolf) are the most 

 dangerous, on account of the severity of the wounds 

 which they inflict ; those of the horse and deer are 

 less dangerous; bovines have not as yet been known 

 to communicate the disease. MM. Nocard and Roux 

 have shown that the virulence appears in the saliva, 

 on an average, twenty-four hours before the first 

 symptoms, and that there are cases in which it ap- 

 pears one or two days earlier. On this account they 

 recommend that all dogs which have bitten other 

 animals or human beings should be kept under ob- 

 servation for three days at least before certifying to 

 their condition. 



Bites which involve the nerves or muscles are 

 among those which are the most likely to communi- 

 cate rabies. 



Besides bites, direct inoculation may occur in the 



