HISTORY OF STRANGLES 45 



time. Its infectious (contagious) nature was determined 

 experimentally in 1790 by Lafosse and since that time by a 

 number of other investigators. In 1873, Rivolta found in the 

 pus of the abscesses a micrococcus which appeared in chains of 

 from three to five segments. Baruchello, in 1S87, described 

 as its cause an organism, which he designated as Bacillus 

 adenitis eqiii. Strangles has been thought by some to be 

 identical with scrofula and measles. Sacco and Nasbot con- 

 sidered it as horse pox. Viborg and Toggia and more recently 

 Nasbot advocated the inoculation of horses with the lymph of 

 horse pox as a prophylactic measure against strangles. Dela- 

 motte demonstrated that this procedure was of little or no pre- 

 ventive value. The supposed specific cause (^Streptococcus equi) 

 of strangles was described first by Schiitz and later by Sand 

 and Jensen in the same year (1888). This discovery has been 

 confirmed by Poels, Lupka and others. More recently Lig- 

 nieres has discovered a " coccobacillus " which he believes to 

 be the primary cause. He considers the streptococcus of 

 Schiitz as a secondary invader of no specific value. His con- 

 clusions do not appear to have been confirmed. 



§ 24. Geographical distribution. Strangles is a wide 

 spread disease among horses. It appears to stand in equine 

 pathology very much as measles do in human medicine, — a 

 disease of early life and consequently more prevalent where 

 there are more young. It seems to exist in all countries 

 where the horse kind are raised and to be more prevalent in 

 breeding districts than elsewhere. 



§ 25. Etiology. Strangles is caused by Streptococcus 

 equi, first described by Schiitz in 1888. With pure cultures of 

 this organism Schiitz was able to produce the disease in 

 healthy hor.ses. It is fatal to mice, a maximum virulent virus 

 destroying life in three days. In the writer's experience 

 streptococci only have been found in the abscesses. 



The period of incubation varies, from four to eight days is 

 the most usual time. 



i; 26. Symptoms. The first indication of this disease 



