CLINICAL EVIDENCE OF VALUE OF SERUM 425 



well as for the excellent proof of the efficiency of hog-cholera serum 

 which they offer, the following report of their early experiments is 

 of value. 



These 47 case reports were first publicly announced by Dr. 

 Niles in the 1908 Annual Report of the United States Bureau of 

 Animal Industry. This chapter of the 1908 report is one of the 

 most interesting articles which ever appeared in the literature of 

 hog-cholera. The nature of the experiments made and the results 

 obtained set the entire hog-producing world agog with interest, 

 and the real work in development of practical use for serum may 

 be said to date from this time. 



It has been my purpose in presenting these cases to follow very 

 closely the original report of Dr. Niles, as presented in the article 

 above referred to. In addition, I have added an analysis of each 

 report, which I trust will prove of assistance to the reader in obtain- 

 ing the highest amount of practical knowledge from them. These 

 case histories are the actual experience of men who have devoted a 

 lifetime to the study of hog-cholera and means for its eradication. 

 They are the foundation for our present scientific treatment of the 

 disease. Each case has many instructive lessons for the owner of 

 swine as well as for the veterinarian engaged to treat them. 



In this series of experimental tests of serum the practice was 

 very much the same as that being used to-day. Our present meth- 

 ods are based on the results of these experiments, as well as many 

 others that have since been made by government, state, and private 

 investigators. Some improvements have since been made. For 

 instance, in these histories no report is made of taking of tempera- 

 tures in the treated herds. This is a very important essential in 

 proper handUng of the disease, and one which should be universally 

 followed. The thermometer reading is of the utmost importance 

 in making a diagnosis of the disease in those cases where visible 

 symptoms have not as yet been developed. The high temperature 

 gives warning of the presence of cholera at least twenty-four hours 

 before loss of appetite, diarrhea, cough, or other clinical evidence 

 shows its diagnostic signs. 



The rule of practice in treating sick and exposed hogs has been 

 somewhat revised since the date of these investigations. It has 

 been found, for instance, that large doses of serum alone injected 



