CHAPTER XX 



HYDROPHOBIA 



A N OTHER fatal form of wound infection may 

 ** result from the bite of a rabid animal " hydro- 

 phobia." The germ of this infectious malady has not 

 been discovered, but it has been demonstrated by ex- 

 periment that it is present in the saliva of rabid 

 animals and in the nervous tissues brain and spinal 

 cord of men and animals who succumb to the dis- 

 ease. A considerable interval elapses after inocula- 

 tion before the first symptoms of the disease are 

 manifested. This period of incubation varies greatly 

 in its duration, but is rarely less than two weeks or 

 more than six months. By far the largest majority 

 of the cases are developed within three months from 

 the time the bite is inflicted. In the dog the period 

 of incubation usually does not exceed two months. 

 When numerous and severe lacerations have been 

 inflicted, especially if these are upon the face, the 

 disease is apt to develop at a comparatively early 



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