186 DISEASES OF SWINE 



the animal becomes thoroughly exhausted, and simply dies from 

 loss of strength. The older the animal, the less hkely is chronic 

 cholera to result in death. In some of these old hogs, after several 

 weeks of diarrhea and loss of weight and strength, the animal be- 

 gins to improve and may entirely fight off the effects of the disease 

 and make a complete recovery. 



When the chronic type of cholera attacks a young animal the 

 tendency is for the disease to be more severe than in old hogs, 

 with death of the sick shoat in a large percentage of the cases. 

 When a young hog does pass through chronic cholera he is usually 

 left with a very marked degree of stomach and bowel disturbance. 

 As a result, the animal becomes stunted and a chronic runt. 

 Such runts as these are never worth their keep, and it is the most 

 economic plan to knock them in the head and thus get rid of. 

 them. 



When an animal that has died of chronic cholera is opened up 

 after death, and a postmortem examination made of the internal 

 organs, it is usually found that the most of the changes produced 

 by the disease are located in the bowels, and especially in the large 

 bowel. The typical button-like ulcers are particularly common 

 in this type of cholera. As a rule, the kidneys also are quite well 

 spotted up, but the changes in the lungs and other organs of the 

 chest are comparatively slight as compared with those found in 

 cases of acute cholera. 



GENERAL REMARKS ON DIAGNOSIS 



Cholera being a disease that appears in different forms in each 

 individual outbreak and in different seasons, it is sometimes rather 

 difficult to make a diagnosis. There are, however, a number of 

 general points which hold true in every outbreak, and if these are 

 carefully noted there will be but little trouble, as a rule, in making 

 a diagnosis. 



When hogs have been previously in good health, and there has 

 been no change made in manner of feeding, character of food, or 

 housing conditions, any change from the natural healthy appear- 

 ance should be regarded as suspicious. If with this change in 

 appearance they manifest a gradual loss of appetite, hide themselves 

 in the litter, and begin to die at the rate of one or two a day, it is 



