Rabies. 135 



it is very prevalent while in others it is rare. It is un- 

 doubtedly on the increase in many sections. This is 

 due to the lack of regulations in regard to the muzzling 

 of dogs. Many people believe that the muzzling is an 

 inhumane practice, while still others assert that rabies 

 is a myth and has no existence except in the minds of 

 the doctors. So long as such ideas are held, rabies will 

 continue to exist. 



There is probably no other disease with which there 

 is connected so many popular fallacies as with rabies. 

 It is currently believed that it occurs only during that 

 part of the summer known as "dog days." In reality 

 the disease is as prevalent in winter as in summer and 

 if it is desirable to muzzle dogs in July and in August, 

 it is also desirable to muzzle them at all times. 



Period of incubation. The period of incubation of 

 rabies is about forty days in man, in the horse from 

 twenty-eight to fifty-six days, in the dog from twenty- 

 one to forty days. The period of incubation, however, 

 may vary widely from these averages as it will depend 

 on the location and severity of the bite. The part of 

 the body in which the organism seems to grow is the 

 nervous system. The symptoms of the disease are not ap- 

 parent until the brain is affected. The time required for 

 the organism to reach the brain depends on the distance 

 of the bite from the brain, thus the symptoms appear 

 more quickly when the bite is on the face than when it is 

 on the limbs. The length of the period of incubation is 

 also dependent on the severity of the bite. Where a 

 slight wound is inflicted, the symptoms will not as a rule 

 follow so soon as if several wounds had been made. 



Symptoms. Two forms of the disease are known, the 

 dumb, and the furious type, so called on account of the- 



