HEMORRHAGIC SEPTICEMIA. 



spread to individuals of other species. For example, hogs and sheep 

 that are pastured with a drove of cattle in which several deaths 

 occur from hemorrhagic septicemia usually remain unaffected, al- 

 though on another farm the sheep or the hogs alone may contract 

 the disease and all the cattle escape. If any exceptions to this rule 

 occur they are extremely rare. 



SYMPTOMS. 



In cattle the disease develops very rapidly, running a course of 

 from 1 to 8 days. There is usually a steady elevation of body tem- 

 perature until from 104° to 107° F. (40° to 41.67° C.) is reached. 

 The animal refuses its feed. Swelling may appear beneath the skin 

 of the head, throat, or dewlap. These enlargements are somewhat 

 soft and pit on pressure. The tongue is often extensively swollen, 

 and the animal drools and slobbers because of the irritation to its 

 tongue and throat. There may be difficulty in breathing, depending 

 on the degree of involvement of the air passages and of the lungs. 

 Occasional coughing may occur. Muscular trembling may be evi- 

 dent. There may be a blood-stained discharge from the nostrils, and 

 strings of mucus may hang from the mouth. Examination of the 

 nostrils often reveals the presence of many small hemorrhages just 

 beneath their lining membranes. The eyelids become highly in- 

 flamed and as a result tears flow down the cheeks. 



There is an intestinal form in which the changes are chiefly found 

 in the abdominal cavity, or the intestinal form may develop after 

 the disease has appeared in the lungs. The stomach, intestines, and 

 kidneys and the lymph glands belonging to them become studded 

 with hemorrhages of various sizes, and the intestines become in- 

 tensely inflamed. The consequence of the developments is that diar- 

 rhea sets in, accompanied with the passage of shreds of mucus and 

 of bloody feces. The intestinal form is rare, as most cases show 

 severe involvement of the lungs and the symptoms of croupous pneu- 

 monia. The animals may stand with their forelegs wide apart in 

 order to breathe more freely. They lose flesh very rapidly when 

 affected with hemorrhagic septicemia, their abdomens become 

 ; ' tucked up," and the eyes quickly become sunken. A staggering 

 gait, caused by the extreme weakness of the patient, is sometimes 

 noticed. 



A disease has been described under the name of septic pleuropneu- 

 monia of calves, which is a form of hemorrhagic septicemia, and is 

 caused by the Bacillus Mpolaris vitulisepticus. The symptoms shown 

 b}^ the affected calves are quite characteristic of hemorrhagic septi- 

 cemia, and the post-mortem findings are also those found in that 

 disease. 



