314 AGRICULTURAL BACTERIOLOGY 



the skin is present on the part licked, inoculation with the 

 virus may result. More frequently the dog seeks to be 

 alone, but it does not remain quiet ; it often acts as if it 

 were being annoyed by something, snapping and howling at 

 some imaginary object. The animal often leaves home, 

 and on its journeyings is likely to infect animals and human 

 beings. It does not usually go out of its way to bite. 

 There is ample opportunity for other dogs to be bitten by 

 it, because of the canine custom of seeking to extend ac- 

 quaintances. 



Frothing at the mouth often occurs, and the voice is more 

 of a howl than a bark, due to the affected muscles of the 

 throat. The rabid animal has no fear of water, as is ex- 

 pressed by the common name of the disease, hydrophobia. 

 Attempts to drink cause a paroxysm of the affected mus- 

 cles of the throat. The animal can not swallow. The pa- 

 ralysis of the muscles gradually extends itself, and death 

 finally brings relief. Much the same symptoms are noted 

 in man. 



In the dumb type the nervous symptoms are lacking and 

 the paralysis appears very early in the course of the disease. 

 It may easily be mistaken for choking. The furious form 

 is the usual type noted in the case of man and in most ani- 

 mals other than the rabbit, which is used extensively in 

 the detection and prevention of the disease. 



Diagnosis. It was stated that only about 10 per cent, 

 of human beings bitten by known rabid animals develop the 

 disease, owing to the non-introduction of the organism into 

 the tissues, or to the destruction of the organisms by the 

 tissues. Death from rabies presents a series of horrible 

 symptoms, and if a person is severely bitten, the preventive 

 treatment should be applied without delay. It is, however, 

 highly advantageous to know for a certainty whether the 

 dog that has inflicted a wound is actually rabid or not. 



