VENEREAL DISEASE OF SHEEP. 



Flook (Jour. Comp. Path, and Ther., \'ol. XVI, p. 374) records 

 an outbreak of a venereal di.sease among .sheep which came under 

 his observation. He relates that, in a herd of fiftj^-two yearling 

 ewes and two ram lambs, which had been recently purcha.sed, it 

 was noted that one of the rams had a discharge from the .sheath, 

 while the other had extensive eruptions about the mouth and 

 no.se. Nothing was .seen amiss with the ewes. Soon after pur- 

 cha.se, the two rams were taken from the band with which they 

 had been purchased and placed with a small flock of old ewes. 

 After one week F. found nine of the old ewes showing great 

 swelling of the vulvae, with raw, bleeding sores upon the mucous 

 and cutaneous surfaces of the lips of the vulva. An examination 

 of the rams revealed ulcerating sores in the sheath of one and 

 eruptions upon the upper lip of the other. The general health 

 of the animals was not apparently disturbed. 



The rams had been marked with color upon the breast between 

 the forelegs .so that each ewe which was .served could be identified 

 and, by this means, it .seemed to be determined that two of the 

 latter had contracted the disea.se without coition. F. suggests 

 that, in these two, the disease may have been transmitted b}- the 

 ram which had the eruptions on his upper lip, through smelling 

 of the vulvae of these two animals, or that it might have been 

 caused by flies bearing the di.sease from one animal to another, 

 .since the affection appeared during the month of August. The 

 affected ewes were isolated and the sores dressed with antiseptics. 

 Gradually they all recovered. 



On the following page of the same journal, vSir John McFad- 

 yean contributes observations made by himself upon an out. 

 break which he considers identical with that described by F., 

 which he also ob.served. He saw twelve ewes affected in one 

 flock, showing intense inflammation, swelling and tenderness of 

 the vulva. The vulvar mucosa was inflamed and some ulcers 

 were present, both on the mucous membrane and the skin. 

 There was a slight purulent discharge from the vulva. As these 

 ewes had been .served by a hired ram, which had been returned 

 to his owner six days previously, McFadyean failed to .see the 

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