474 DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT. 



treatment of this disease. To accomplish this, I not only give the 

 very best explanation of the difficulty and treatment directed by one 

 of the most prominent veterinary surgeons of the country, but the 

 treatment practiced by Dr. Meyer, who informed the writer that he 

 had treated thousands of cases without losing a single one, compli- 

 cations excepted ; that of true pink-eye he never lost a case, and 

 consequently must be accepted as entirely reliable and of great 

 value. 



Influenza, etc., belongs to the class of diseases called epizootic, 

 which are distinguished by extending over a large tract of country, 

 and attacking a number of horses at the same -time. In its nature it 

 resembles an epidemic form of catarrh, but it is essentially different, 

 and is easily distinguished from that complaint by its epizootic 

 'character, and the marked prostration, and low typhoid form of 

 fever which always accompanies it. It does not affect horses alike 

 in all seasons ; some years it is' apt to involve the lungs principally, 

 with a marked tendency to dropsical effusion, whereas in others the 

 liver and digestive organs are chiefly implicated. 



Causes. — It is usually supposed to arise from " atmospheric 

 causes," — some changes which are said to exist in the atmosphere 

 which are not easily explained. It occurs mostly in spring or au- 

 tumn, and is most commonly seen in overcrowded, badly ventilated 

 ,stables, situated in malarial districts. City horses are more liable 

 to it than those in the country, and coarser breeds are more subject 

 to it than finer breeds, Poor and overworked horses are especially 

 subject to the fever. 



The, disease at times comes on as an epizootic. While it is con- 

 sidered decidedly contagious, many veterinarians claim no infec- 

 tion. Dr. Meyer informed the writer that while the fever was at its 

 hight, in one stable where the sanitary conditions were excellent, 

 and containing one hundred and seventy horses, not an animal was 

 taken with the fever ; while in badly ventilated stables, and under 

 poor conditions, the disease was rampant. 



Symptoms. — It is early characterized by weakness, a quick, weak 

 pulse, / hot mouth, shivering, dullness, watery eyes. The lining 

 membrane of the nose is reddened, accompanied by a watery dis- 

 charge, which soon becomes thick and purulent, accompanied by 

 sore throat and difficulty of swallowing ; the appetite is impaired, 

 and the bowels costive. These symptoms, instead of abating, as in 

 catarrh, increase, the breathing becomes hurried, and there is lifting 

 of the flanks. The low form of fever is characteristic, as also its oc- 

 curring in spring or fall, and attacking a number of animals in the 

 same way, distinguishing it from cpmmon catarrh. 



