DISTEMPER AND CONTAGIOUS CATARRHAL FEVER 279 



either convulsions or chronic twitchings or catarrhal diarrhtea, the injec- 

 tion of the serum produced no effect whatever. 



Wagner and Pinkammer declare it is valueless, while Lange and 

 Creutz claim to have had very good results when used in the early stages 

 of the disease. Opinions are also divided in regard to other serums, 

 for instance that of Gans, as well as what is known as Dutchman's serum, 

 obtained from animals fed with yeast. This latter serum is used only as 

 a therapeutic agent; some observers claim good results from it. 



Numerous tests have been made by the writer, but it cannot be said 

 positively that the results are such as to say the serums are of any prac- 

 tical value, and when we consider that up to the present time the active 

 agent in the production of the disease has not been definitely isolated, or 

 its actual nature and structure known, we can hardly cultivate a serum 

 to combat it. 



Some of the agents mentioned as being specific for distemper are 

 Gurnine (ganglionary serum) which has not been found to produce any 

 beneficial results. Yeast and yeast preparations, furonculine (dis- 

 temper antigurmine, creolin, etc.) , seem to have some influence in control- 

 ling intestinal catarrh. Calomel has also a certain effect in the early 

 stages of gastric distemper. Creolin inhalations are good in pulmonary 

 and bronchial forms of distemper, as also inhalations of benzoin and 

 balsam of Peru. Trichloride of iodine which Ellerman, de Brun and 

 others injected subcutaneously, 3 to 5 cm. in a solution of 1 to 100, has 

 a very favorable influence when administered in the early stages of the 

 disease, but in the more advanced stages of the disease it has little or no 

 influence. Ichthargan in 3 per cent, solution, iodipin, tallianine, 1 to 

 5 cm. intravenouvsly. 



Therapeutics. — No special therapeutic treatment can be given for dis- 

 temper — that is, no agent has been found up to this time which has the 

 property of destroying or rendering harmless the specific micro-organisms 

 present in this disease. Certain antiseptic and antibacterial remedies, 

 like quinine, salicylic acid, antipyrine, etc., may generally reduce the 

 fever, but they produce no influence on the general course of the disease. 

 The use of agents for reducing the temperature is objectionable, as they 

 not only deprive us of the symptom of temperature, which is of the great- 

 est importance during the course of the disease, but cause more or less 

 depression of the heart. According to Frohner's experiments, calomel 

 is supposed to have a slight claim as a universal agent, but this is on the 

 same order as black coffee, which was formerly advocated by Trasbot. 

 Common salt has been recommended by Zippelius, and ergotin was 

 highly recommended and frequently used a few years ago. None of 

 these remedies, while they prove beneficial in some cases, is to be laid 

 down as a specific for the treatment of the disease, therefore we must 



