CROUPOUS PNEUMONIA IN SHEEP. 



Causes, damp, cold soils, inclement weather, cold rains, hard driving, 

 shearing or washing in cold weather, change to a cold climate, or from a 

 warm barn, hot barns, heavy fleeces, sudden plethora. Symptoms, in con- 

 gestive cases, in inflammatory. Treatment, preventive, hygienic, anti- 

 phlogistic, laxative, febrifuge, derivative. 



This disease is not uiifrequent in these animals, occurring en- 

 zootically in low, wet pastures ; or from cold storms of wind, sleet 

 or drenching rains, particularly after hard driving, or shearing ; 

 or from washing during inclement weather. Dressing with mer- 

 curial ointment in cases of scab is a frequent cause of pneumonia 

 and death in Lincolnshire and various other English counties. 

 Lastly M. Seron in Hurtrel d' Arboval's " Didionaire'" describes 

 its prevalence in Seine- Infer iezire among low conditioned sheep 

 subjected abruptly to a very nutritious diet. The hot buildings, 

 heavy fleeces, and sudden plethora, appear to conduce to danger- 

 ous pulmonary congestions. The symptoms do not differ materi- 

 ally from those seen in the ox except so far as they are modified 

 by the fact that the disease often terminates fatally before hepa- 

 tization has been established and the symptoms and post mortem 

 appearances are those of congestion and sanguineous engorgment 

 of the lung rather than of hepatization. 



This engorged state of the lungs it is which has led Youatt and 

 others to describe them erroneously as ' ' gangrenous ' ' and 

 shepherds to name the disease ' ' rot of the lights. ' ' The condi- 

 tion is that of acute congestion and analogous to that seen in con- 

 gested lungs in the horse. 



The treatment ought to be chiefly preventive and will consist in 

 the avoidance of the causes above indicated. 



When the disease has set in, fresh air, and general comfort, 

 bleeding if in the very earliest stages and in a strong patient, 

 purging (3 ounces sulphate of soda and yi^ lb. treacle in warm 

 gruel) and a free supply of nitre (about ^ an ounce daily to 

 each) in the water or gruel supplied are the leading indications. As 

 a counterirritant aqua ammonia acts well being sufficiently con- 

 confined by the fleece. 



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