186 RURAL VETERINARY SECRETS 



sick hog; but an agency which might serve to carry a particle of dirt 

 from infected yards may be the means of starting an outbreak of the 

 disease. 



SYMPTOMS 



In the acute type the symptoms are chiefly sluggishness, a disin- 

 clination to move, weakness, loss of appetite, high fever, inflammation 

 of the eyes and gumming of the lids ; there may be diarrhea, red or 

 purplish blotches may be seen on the skin, especially on the abdomen, 

 inside the thighs, and around the ears and neck. In this form it usually 

 runs a rapid course and the hog gets greatly emaciated. In fact, in 

 acute outbreaks the hogs may die after being sick only a few days. 



In the chronic type of the disease the symptoms are much the same 

 as in the acute. The hog is sluggish, disinclined to move when dis- 

 turbed, and coughing is usually heard when they are disturbed. They 

 eat very little, lose flesh rapidly and later become emaciated and weak, 

 so that "they stagger or walk with an uncertain gait. The hind legs par- 

 ticularly appear to be very weak. The eyes are inflamed and the lids 

 gummed together. After a few days there is apt to be profuse diarrhea. 

 The hog usually lingers along for weeks, sometimes months, but finally 

 dies. 



PREVENTION AND TREATMENT 



It has been shown that in a vast majority of cases the germ is 

 transported mechanically in the bodies of sick hogs and on the feet of 

 men or animals, including birds. It follows that the chances of anout- 

 break of hog cholera will be greatly lessened if a herd is protected from 

 these carriers of infection. Hog lots should not be located near public 

 roads, if this can be avoided and all newly purchased stock should be 

 kept separate for at least thirty days. It is well to occasionally scatter 

 slacked lime about the lots and to wash and disinfect the troughs with 

 a compound solution of Cresol, one part to thirty parts of water. Hogs 

 once affected'are not very satisfactory or profitable, as they usually 

 don't amount to much after recovery. If cholera has broken out in 

 your neighborhood, it is well to guard against a possible contagion or 

 infection by vaccinating all your hogs, which will render them immune 

 from the deadly malady. 



