256 THE RURAL EFFICIENCY GUIDE STOCK 



Causes. Hog cholera is believed to be caused by a germ or microbe so 

 small that it cannot be seen with the most powerful microscopes available. 

 This germ is present in the blood and excretions of sick hogs, especially in 

 the urine. Whenever these germs come in contact with a hog, they begin their 

 work immediately and this makes hog cholera highly contagious. 



Predisposing Causes. There are many factors which make a herd more 

 susceptible to hog cholera such as : insanitary condition of hog lots, improper 

 feeding, cold or damp sleeping places, confinement, privation, and dirty feed- 

 ing and drinking troughs. In fact, anything that lowers the vitality of the 

 herd helps to make hogs easy victims to this disease. 



Symptoms. Hog cholera manifests itself in both an acute and chronic 

 form. In the former, the animals die within a few days while in the latter 

 they may live for several weeks. In its acute form, the main symptoms are: 

 loss of appetite, sluggishness, weakness, disinclination to move, shivering, high 

 fever, hiding under litter, lying on belly, weakness of hind limbs at first and 

 later of front limbs, inflamed eyes and gummed lids, red or purplish blotches 

 on the skin, especially on the abdomen, inside the legs and around the neck 

 and ears, rapid, weak pulse, dry snout covered by blood-stained spots, intense 

 thirst, bowels tight at first but later loose and offensive, tender abdomen, and 

 often a hard cough. 



In the chronic form of the disease, the symptoms are similar to those 

 found in an acute case such as : sluggishness and disinclination to move when 

 disturbed, coughing when suddenly aroused, loss of appetite and flesh, growing 

 so weak they walk with an uncertain gait, sometimes staggering, hind legs 

 particularly weak, eyes inflamed and lids gummed together, profuse diarrhea. 



The symptoms of hog cholera are not particularly characteristic and only 

 such as might be observed in any severe disease. But if these symptoms 

 appear in several or all of the hogs in a herd and the disease is seen to be 

 contagious, cholera is probably present, though the only sure way of telling 

 is by holding a post-mortem examination. 



Simple Method of Examining a Hog After Dying From Hog Cholera. 

 Lay the hog on his back and make an incision through the skin and under- 

 lying fat. Begin at the throat and cut the entire length of the body. Next cut 

 under the skin covering the chest so as to expose the ribs. Now sever the 

 ribs, beginning at their lower border about one or two inches on either side 

 o'f the breast bone and cutting toward the head, and remove them entirely. 

 Next make crosswise cuts from the first long incision toward each leg so that 

 the skin may be laid back on both sides of the body. 



Caution. Do not injure the organs in opening the carcass. Also avoid 

 having any open cuts or bruises in your hands where germs might enter. 

 Cholera germs will not affect man but the body of a hog may be full of other 

 germs that might prove dangerous. 



