466 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



the larynx and trachea there result cough, "svheezing, and dyspnea, 

 together with a yellowish mucopurulent expectoration. 



When life is prolonged three or four weeks, caseous foci may be 

 established in the lung, giving rise to all the signs of a bronchopneu- 

 monia. Man}' of these cases are associated with a fibrinous pleurisy. 

 The invasion of the gastrointestinal tract is announced by diarrheal 

 symptoms. Tliis disease principally attacks sucklings not more than 

 6. weeks of age, but calves 8 and 10 months old are frequently affected, 

 and seA'eral cases in adult cattle have been reported to this office. 



In its very acute form many of the cases run their course in from 

 five to eight days. In these the local lesions are not strongly marked, 

 and death seems due to acute intoxication. In other enzootics 

 the majority of the affected animals live from three to five weeks. 

 These are cases that occasionally present the pulmonary and intes- 

 tinal sj'mptoms, and sometimes develop also caseo-necrotic lesions in 

 the liver. 



Ordinarily cases show no tendency to spontaneous cure. Left to 

 themselves they die. On the contrary, if taken in hand early, the 

 disease is readily amenable to treatment. In the latter event the 

 prospects of recoAery are excellent. 



Dlfferentml diagnosis. — Xecrotic stomatitis may be differentiated 

 from foot-and-mouth disease by the fact that in the latter there is 

 a rapid infection of the entire herd, including the adult cattle, as 

 well as the infection of hogs and sheep. The characteristic lesion 

 of foot-and-mouth disease is the appearance of vesicles containing a 

 serous fluid upon the mucous membrane of the mouth and ui)on the 

 udder, teats, and feet of the affected animals. In necrotic stomatitis 

 vesicles are never formed, necrosis occurring from the beginning and 

 followed by the formation of yellowish, cheesy patches, principally 

 found in the mouth. Mycotic stomatitis occurs in only a few animals 

 of the herd, chiefly the adult cattle, and the lesions produced consist 

 of an inflammation of the mouth and lips and of the skin between 

 the toes, followed in a few days by small irregular ulcers in the 

 mouth. This disease appears sporadically, usually in the early fall 

 after a dry summer, does not run a regular course, and can not be 

 inoculated. 



Prevention. — Prophylaxis should be carried out along three lines: 



(1) Separation of the sick from the healthy animals. 



(2) Close scrutiny and thorough disinfection once or twice daily 

 for fiA'e days of the mouths and nasal passages of those animals that 

 have been exposed. 



(3) Complete disinfection of all stalls and sheds. 



The disease appears to break out in winter and hold over to spring. 

 It is conceivable that exposure to cold might so disturb the normal 

 circulation of the oral tissues as to make the mucous membrane an 



