30 MANUAL OF POISONOUS PLANTS 



Jersey cow, described by Pearson and Ravenel presented the following symp- 

 toms; the animal had been in poor condition for six months before it was 

 examined. It was weak and depressed, did not eat, breathed with difficulty and, 

 at times, coughed violently. Percussion of the chest gave sounds clearer and 

 louder than normal and auscultation revealed the lung and bronchial sounds 

 much intensified. Six days later these symptoms became more pronounced, the 

 respiration and pulse very rapid. The animal grew rapidly weaker and died 

 ten days after first being seen. The symptoms in birds are much the same as 

 those in mammals except, that the disease runs a more rapid course. Emacia- 

 tion advances rapidly and fetid diarrhoea may set in and continue until death 

 in from a week to two months. At times emaciation is the only symptom. 

 Fowls emit a glairy discharge from the nostrils which may contain the spores. 

 In the prevention of the disease in fowls therefore, it is necessary to isolate 

 or destroy the sick fowls together with the carcasses and fumigate the poultry 

 houses. The roosts may be whitewashed. 



Lesions. The lesions take the form of a miliary suppurative process, the 

 foci varying in size from very small up to that of a pea. These may exist in 

 large numbers and be scattered throughout the entire lung. Sometimes they 

 become confluent and produce large areas of disease. The process starts in the 

 bronchial mucous membrane, and later involves the bronchioles and alveoli. 

 A very important feature is the intense amount of emphysema which is apparent 

 on external examination of the lung. The lobules are often widely separated 

 and can be readily seen in outline when a portion of the tissue is examined 

 by transmitted light. In these emphysematous interlobular spaces, and in the 

 air passages are seen whitish, mouldy looking patches. They are composed of 

 denuded epithelium, inflammatory exudate, fruit hyphae and spores. 



The lesions spread by penetration of the mycelium causing a destruction 

 of tissue. Spores are not found within the tissues. In rare cases there is diffuse 

 pneumonia characterized by hepatization and interstitial infiltration. On this 

 latter account the disease has been described as being similar to contagious 

 pleuro pneumonia of cattle. There may be pulmonary gangrene from secondary 

 invasion of putrefactive organisms acting upon the devitalized tissue. An 

 interesting feature is that this disease may interfere with the tuberculin test. 

 This was shown in the case, above referred to, in which the test was used 

 without success, and lesions of tuberculosis found in the lung on postmortem 

 examination. 



Treatment. This must of necessity be unsatisfactory since it is quite 

 impossible to destroy the moulds which have penetrated the lungs. (Stuhr). 



