INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 559 



fractory double outline, rurtheruioie, the injection of niallein in 

 cases of sporotrichosis will be attended with ne«jjative results. 



Tre^tfmeiU. — At the onset of the disease treatment consists in entire 

 extirpation of the nodules, in case the lesions are localized. In 

 cases in which the nodules have formed abscesses, their opening is 

 recommended, followed by the application of the actual cautery or a 

 1 to '2'iO solution of bichloriil of mercury. It must l)e borne in mind 

 that the or«;anism is ([uite resistant to antiseptics, and the best results 

 Avill be obtained from the application of a solution of a stronjj anti- 

 septic following the oj)enin<^ of the lesions. Internally, potassium 

 iodid is recommended in "J-dram doses, dissolved in drinking water, 

 twice a day. 



In the most favorable cases recovery results in from live to seven 

 weeks; as a rule, however, it requires several months. 



In order to j)revent the spreading of the disease the affected ani- 

 mals should be isolated, the products of the disease .should be de- 

 stroyed, and the stable should be disinfected with very strong liquid 

 disinfectants in consideration of the resistance of the causative or- 

 ganism. 



RABIES. HYDROPHOBIA, OR MADNESS. 



Rabies is a contagious disease, which is usually transmitted by a 

 bite and by the introdtu-tion of a virus contained in the saliva of an 

 affected animal. It may, however, be transmitted in other ways. It 

 is characterized by symptoms of aberration of the nervous system 

 and invariably terminates fatally. It is accompanied with lesions, 

 intlammation, and degeneration in the central nervous .system. It is 

 a disease that is most common in the dog, but is transmitted to the 

 hoi"se, either from dogs or from any other animal affected with it. 

 (See also remarks on page 244.) As a disease of the hor.se it ia 

 invariably the residt of the bite of a rabid animal, usually a dog. 



Perhaps lU) disease in medicine has been the object of more con- 

 troversy than rabies. Certain medical men of prominence have 

 even doubted its exi.stence, and numy others have claimed for it a 

 spontaneous origin. The experience of ages, however, has shown 

 that contagion can be proved in the great majority of ca.se.s, and, 

 by analogy with other contagious diseases, we may only believe that 

 the di'veloj>ment of one case re<iuires the i)reexistence of a case from 

 which the virus has been transmitted. ]*aste»ir has fuither added 

 to our knowledge of the disea.st; by showing that a virus capable of 

 cultivation exi.sts in the nervous system, especially in the lower 

 part of the brain (medulla oblongata) and in the anterior part of 

 the spinal column. He ha.-> further shown that that portion of the 

 nervous system which contains the viru.s. the exact nature of which 

 has not yet been <leinonstr:ited, will retain it for a very long time 



