470 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



cases membranous (croupous) deposits are found in the throat. 

 Similar deposits have been found upon the mucous membrane of the 

 fourth stomach and intestine, which is always inflamed. There is 

 more or less inflammation of the membranes of the brain, kidneys, 

 and liver, and some fatty degeneration of the Aoluntary muscles. In 

 countries where rinderpest occasionally appears it may be difficult 

 to distingl^ish between it and malignant catarrh, owing to a general 

 similarity of the symptoms. The principal points to be observed in 

 differentiating between the two are the very slight transmissibility 

 of the latter as compared with the intense contagiousness of the 

 former, and the tendency of malignant catarrh to run a more chronic 

 course than rinderpest, which usually results fatally in a very few 

 days. Only a trained veterinarian who takes into consideration all 

 the different symptoms and lesions of both diseases should decide 

 in such cases. 



Treatment. — There is no specific treatment for this affection. 

 Copious blood letting in the earliest stages has been highly recom- 

 mended, howeA'er, as this has a tendency to deplete the system and 

 lessen the exudation of inflammatory products. Antiseptic washes, 

 as creoline, 2 to 4 per cent solution, or lysol, 5 per cent solution, ap- 

 plied to the nose, eyes, and mouth with ice poultices over the crest 

 of the head and frontal region, have also proved efficacious. Calomel 

 should also be given in 1-dram doses twice a day for three days, and 

 in severe cases, involving the respiratory tract, a powder containing 

 ferrous sulphate, quinin, and subnitrate of bismuth, given twice a 

 dav, will be found beneficial. At the same time it must be remem- 

 bered that much greater success is to be looked for in the preventive 

 treatment. This consists in the removal of the healthy from the 

 infected animals (not vice versa) and thorough cleaning and disin- 

 fecting of the contaminated stables. If the floors are low and damp, 

 they should be raised and made dry. If this can not be done, place 

 a layer of cement under the stable floor to prevent water from enter- 

 ing from below. The stable should be well ventilated and the soil in 

 the pastures thoroughly drained. If this is carefully carried out, tlie 

 contagion should be destroyed and the danger of the reappearance of 

 the disease in a great measure lessened. 



MALIGNANT EDEMA. 



Malignant edema, also termed gangrenous septicemia, is an acute, 

 inflammatory disease of domestic and wild animals, resulting from 

 the introduction of a specific organism into the deep connective tissues 

 of a susceptible animal and proving fatal in many instances within 

 24 to 48 hours. The disease may be inoculated from one animal to 

 another, but only by inserting the virus deeply below the skin. It 



