INFECTIOUS DISEASES OF CATTLE. 415 



ing aiul evening, in each case before feeding. This treatment was con- 

 tinued for tea days. when the animal was cured. 



Dr. Xorgaard gave two and one-half drams dissolved in water once 

 a day for three days. He then omitted the medicine for a day or two, 

 and continued it according to symptoms. These examples of the treat- 

 ment as it has been successfully administered by others will servo as a 

 sufficient indication for those who wish to test it. 



Arfhiomycoisiii anil Hie public health. The interest which has been 

 aroused concerning this cattle disease is largely due to the fact that 

 the same disease attacks human beings. Its slow progress, its tend-. 

 cncv to remain restricted to certain localities, and the absence of any 

 directly contagious properties, have thus far not aroused any anxiety 

 in other countries as to its influence on the cattle industry, not even to 

 the point of placing it among the infectious diseases of which statistics 

 are annually published. Its possible bearing on public health has. 

 however, given this disease a place in the public mind which it hardly 

 deserves. 



It has already been stated that the actinoinyces fungus found in hu- 

 man disease is considered by authorities the same as that occurring in 

 bovine affections. It is therefore of interest to conclude this article 

 with a brief discussion of the disease in man and its relation to acti- 

 uomyeosis in cattle. 



In man the location of the disease process corresponds fairly well with 

 that in cattle. The majority of cases which have been reported in dif- 

 ferent pa rts <f the world, and they are now quite numerous, indicate 

 disease of the face. The skin or the jawbones may become affected, 

 and by a very slow process it may extend downward upon the neck ;:i d 

 even into the cavity of the chest. In many cases the teeth have been 

 found in a state of more or less advanced decay and ulceration. In a 

 few cases disease of the lungs was observed without coexisting disease 

 of the Iwmes or soft parts of the head. In such cases the fungus must 

 li.ivc been inhaled. The disease of the lungs after a. time extends upon 

 the chest wall. Here it may corrode the ribs and work its way through 

 the muscles and the skin. An abscess is thus formed discharging pus 

 containing actinomyccs grains. Disease of the digestive organs caused 

 l>y this fungus has also been observed in a few instances. 



(i rant ing the identity of the disease in man and cattle, the question 

 ha- Ueen raised whether cattle are responsible for the disease in man. 

 1 1 in emission of the infectious agent may be conceived of as taking 

 place during the life of the animal and after slaughter from the meat. 

 That human beings have contracted actinomyces by coining in contact 

 with diseased cattle is not shown by the cases that have hitherto been 

 reported, for the occupations of most of the patients did not bring them 

 into any relation whatever with cattle. While the possibility of mob 

 direct transmission is not denied, therefore, it must be considered ex- 



