CHAPTER XIV. 

 SCABIES OF CATTLE, OR MANGE. 



», ITS CAUSE. II. FORM AND LIFE HISTORY OF THE SCAB PARASITE. 



III. TRANSMISSION OF MANGE. IV. DISINFECTION. V. TREATMENT. 



VI. GENERAL DIRECTIONS. 



I. Its Cause. 



This disease has prevailed to a considerable extent among the range 

 oattle of the West and Northwest, and has been heard of in other portions 

 of the country. We quote from government report : 



Scabies, or mange, of the ox is a contagious disease caused by a para- 

 sitic mite. Cattle are chiefly affected with but two varieties of these 

 parasites, or mites, which belong to the class Arachnoidea. These are, 

 first, the Psoroptes; second, the Symbiotes. The fii-st is the one which 

 most frequently affects them. It lives on the surface of the skin and by 

 its biting gives rise to great irritatioi: and itching. It is most frequent 

 upon the sides of the neck and shoulders, at the base of the horns, and 

 at the root of the tail. From these points it spreads to the back and sides, 

 and may invade nearly the entire body. Its principal manifestations are 

 more or less numerous pimples, exudation, and abundant scaling off of 

 the skin, falling out of the hair, and the formation of dry, gray-brown- 

 ish scabs. In the course of time the skin becomes thickened, stiff, 

 wrinkled, and acquires the consistence of leather. When mange has 

 spread over a large surface of the body, the animals lose flesh and become 

 weak and anemic, rendering them constitutionally less able to with- 

 stand or combat the effects of the mites. At the same time the decreased 

 vigor and lessened vitality of the affected animals favor more rapid mul- 

 tiplication of the mites and the further extension and intensification of 

 the disease. Thus w^e have cause and effect working together, with the 

 result that scabies, or mange, of cattle may in some cases prove fatal; 

 especially are fatal terminations likely to occur in the latter part of a 

 severe winter among immature and growing animals, or those of adult 

 and full age when in an unthrifty condition at the time of becoming 

 infected. Variations in the progress of the disease have been noticed de- 

 pending upon the season of the year, ag.gravation in winter alternating 

 wath improvement in summer. 



The mite which causes cattle itch, or mange, is closely related to the 

 mite which causes sheep scab; both belong to the same genus and species, 

 but are different varieties. The sheep-scab mite will not attack cattle, nor 



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