BOARD-SHIP PNEUMONIA. 363 



strument will not only inform us of the extent of the danger ; but 

 will also give us timely warning of an attack before the usual 

 symptoms become apparent. 



Board-ship Pneumonia. 



NATURE AND CAUSE.— This form of pneumonia is un- 

 doubtedly the most common cause of death among horses which 

 are carried in large numbers by sea ; but, as far as I can learn, it 

 never appears among animals on land, or w4ien the number of 

 horses on board is very small, as in the case w'lien they are taken 

 in portable horse-boxes. It might be supposed at first sight, that 

 the disease was due to defective ventilation ; but experience shows 

 us that when it breaks out, it affects not only horses in badly- 

 ventilated stalls, but also those which are in places where the 

 ventilation is of the freest possible kind, as for instance, in stalls 

 facing large openings on the windward side of the ship. This 

 fact strongly suggests the conclusion that the disease in question is 

 due to an infection, which of course could not originate on board, 

 but must have been carried into the ship. Some veterinary sur- 

 geons have suggested to me that it is due to stagnation of blood 

 in the lungs, owing to w^ant of exercise, but if that supposition 

 were true, the appearance of the disease would be independent of 

 overcrowding, which is not the case ; and it would also occur on 

 land, when horses are tied up for a long time. The clinical symp- 

 toms and the history of the cases suggest the theory that the 

 disease is a form of contagious pleuro-pneumonia (p. iGG) which 

 has been aggravated by the unsanitary conditions of overcrowding. 



I believe that I am correct in saying that this board-ship form 

 of pneumonia is generally complicated by pleurisy. I have seen 

 it break out among horses on board a ship bound to South Africa, 

 three days after leaving England. 



SYMPTOMS. — The animal is depressed, more or less off its 

 food, and hangs its head. The eyes are generally closed to a 

 greater or less extent, and are sometimes " weeping." The 

 mucous membrane of the eyes is of an intensely red colour, which 

 becomes darker as the disease progresses. If pleurisy also exists, 

 its presence will be indicated by the heaving of the flanks and 

 by abdominal breathing, which is manifested by the presence of 

 a groove on the lower part of the side of the abdomen. The 

 apjDearance of this groove is shown in Fig. 142 (p. 357), which is 

 reproduced from a photograph I took, at Port Elizabeth, of a lately- 

 landed horse that was in the last stage of board-ship pleuro- 

 pneumonia. The nostrils are greatly dilated, and the breathing. 



