TEXAS FEVER 



puacles in the blood of the superficial 

 circulation containing the parasite in 

 acute cases, while about 80 per cent of 

 the corpuscles in the kidneys, spleen, 



we can realize what a task is imposed on 

 the excretory organs in disposing of the 

 waste products due to the wholesale des- 

 truction ot red blood corpuscles, the re- 



iiver and heart (right Ventricle) con- j mains, as it were of the destroyed cor- 



tains the intra-globular bodies. 

 This organism does not belong to the 



puscles and their coloring matter must 

 either be converted into bile or execre- 



class of diseases producing organism ted unchanged. The natural result of 

 known as bacteria but to the class known | the effort to excrete this material by 

 as micro-parasites or protozoa. So many I the liver is extensive disease of that 

 people have got into the habit of class- j organ. 



ing this disease in the same category The bile secreted by the liver contains 

 with anthrax, when the fact is that if 8O much 8olid debris that U occlude8 

 we omit the note mortem symptoms of the bile capillaries, this in time inter- 

 the affected animal, no similaritv what- fere8 with the trition f the liver and 

 ever exists. This is a point that ! ^tty degeneration is the result, conse- 

 should receive careful notice as it is of ^ aentl - v ' the PM'-'logical functions of 



the greatest importance when we come 

 to the consideration of methods toward 

 the eradication and control of these two 

 diseases. 



This organism multiplies with great 

 rapidity in the blood causing an enor- 

 mous destrnction of red blood corpuscles 

 in a few days. For instance, during 

 health, there are about 5,500,000 red 

 blood corpuscles in a cubic millimeter 

 of blood, but in Texas fever actual count 

 shows that the ravages of this organism 

 reduces the number as low as 1,500,000 

 at which point the animal usually dies. 

 Or to put it in another form, according 

 to experimental determination by the 

 U. S. Bureau of Animal Industry which 

 consists in counting the number of cor- 

 puscles in a given quantity of blood from 

 day to day in an animal affected with 

 this disease in the acute form, shows 



the liver are suspended. The kidneys 

 are the organs where the greatest num- 

 ber of corpuscles contain the parasite; 

 as a consequence ereat destruction of 

 corpuscles take place in these organs, 

 hence the reason of the blood colored 

 urine in these cases due to the hemo- 

 globin of the destroyed blood corpuscles, 

 this condition is so constant in cases of 

 Texas fever that it may almost be con- 

 sidered as pathognomonic. 



That the cause of Texas fever is the 

 above mentioned red blood corpuscle 

 estroying micro-organism, there jan be 

 no possible doubt as its presence in the 

 Llood ot affected animals can be always 

 demonstrated. The evidence in support 

 of this statement may be briefly sum- 

 marized as follows: 



1st. That microscopicol examinations 

 show the constant presence of the micro- 

 parasite in the red blood corpuscles of 



that the corpuscles contained in from i infectuous southern cattle. 



five to ten pounds of blood may be des- 

 troyed within 24 hours. The importance 



2nd. That microscopical examina- 

 nations show the constant presence of 



of this is apparent when we realize that the same micro parasite, but in greatly 



in a steer weighing 1,000 pounds the 

 blood in his body will probably amount 

 to about 50 pounds. Reasoning from 

 the above facts it is easy to understand 

 the manner in which the symptoms and 

 post-mortem lesions are produced and 



increased numbers in the blood corpus- 

 cles of northern cattle suffering from 

 Texas fever. 



3rd. That microscopical examinations 

 show the absence of the micro-parasite 

 in the blood of healthy northern cattle. 



