﻿THE CATTLE GRUBS OR OX WARBLES 



103 



any definite ill effects been attributed to tliis method. Brodersen 

 {10) , working in Denmarl?:, reports his observations upon a semiacute 

 malady which he terms " Ilosenfeber." He records several cases in 

 which he has seen the sick cows very soon after the grubs had been 

 squeezed out. The description he gives of the sickness indicates 

 clearly that it is of an anaphylactic nature similar to that described 

 by Hadwen and Bruce {38)^ Jensen {1^9)^ and Van Es and Schalk 

 {109) .'va. cases where they injected the juice of larvae into animals 

 sensitized by natural infestations. Brodersen's cases were acute but 

 not serious. Apparently the general depression, rapid pulse, and 

 puslike secretion from the mucous membranes completely subsided 

 within a few hours. In the cases cited it appears that the gi-ubs 

 were squeezed out by men hired for the purpose and apparently the 

 work was done in a very crude way. The experience, however, 

 directs attention to the danger of handling cattle roughly during the 

 extraction process and further emphasizes the need of a proper under- 

 standing of the best method of remov- 

 ing the grubs. It should be noted 

 also that in cases in the writer's ex- 

 perience in which the grubs have been 

 removed from large numbers of cattle, 

 some of them very heavily infested, 

 no instance in which any ill effects 

 whatsoever were noticeable has ever 

 been observed. The principal danger 

 seems to lie in the improper applica- 

 tion of pressure around the grub, 

 which causes the cyst to break and the 

 grub, after being crushed, to be forced 

 back into the connective tissue. 



To lessen the danger of anaphylac- 

 tic shock to cattle following hand ex- 

 traction of grubs, Hadwen {37) has 

 advised that the back of the animal 

 be washed off' with cold water. In 

 very valuable animals and show herds, 

 it is suggested that the warble cysts be washed out with a hypodermic 

 syringe or oil can, using a normal saline solution or a 2 per cent 

 carbolic wash. 



Aside from the anaphylactic reaction mentioned above it is claimed 

 by some that there is occasional formation of pus abscesses in the 

 subcutaneous tissue following extraction. The writers' observa- 

 tions indicate, however, that with even moderate care in hand ex- 

 traction tlie chance of pus fonjiation in the backs of stock is less- 

 ened rather than increased by i-emoving the grubs. Great numbers 

 of cases have been encountered in which cows had develoj)ed large 

 abscesses witliout having been treated for grubs, usually because 

 of the closing of the orifice of the grub cyst before the grub readies 

 maturity. In most cases this results in the deatli of the insect. 

 Sucli abscesses are always greatly relieved by discharging them as 

 soon as they are observ(;d. 



Idealizing the fact that the leaving of foreign bodies in a host 

 is not good surgical pi-ii<tic(>, the writ(M's were at first I'athcr skep- 

 tical about tlie advisability of destroying the grubs in the backs 



Fig. 38. — Alligator forceps, a. type 

 well adapted for use in extracting 

 gnibs from the backs of cattle 



