SOURCES OF INFECTION 55 
of kennels. Light and air are among the very few things 
obtainable gratis nowadays, yet their value should not 
be depreciated on that account, nor their supply limited. 
To Detect Distemper—Laymen frequently ask, ‘‘ How 
shall I know my dog has distemper?” For answer, I would 
counsel them to treat as distemper a// catarrhal or other 
conditions, until the contrary has been proved. For 
instance, the symptoms of refusing food, showing in- 
difference or malaise, shivering, creeping near the fire 
and evincing a disposition to sleep, slight husky cough, 
the least nasal or eye discharge, diarrhceic tendency, or 
even a dry, hot nose, would collectively or individually 
be sufficient ground for suspecting the onset of dis- 
temper. Having recognised some such disturbance in 
the dog’s health, the common mistake of waiting for the 
advent of further and more pronounced diagnostic 
symptoms should be avoided, and the animal immediately 
placed in quiet seclusion. A “wait and see” policy in 
these cases is fatal. 
Infective Matter and its Source-—It must be borne in 
mind that the virulent contagium is to be found in the 
watery nasal or lachrymal discharge and respiratory 
mucus, particularly in the early stages. Although it has 
been demonstrated also in the blood, spleen, kidneys, 
liver, cerebro-spinal fluid, etc., these are unlikely to have 
any connection with the spread ofinfection. There remain 
as the only other possible sources—the feeces, urine, and 
pustular contents ; but the latter have never revealed any 
agent which would set up typical distemper, and appar- 
ently no observer has recorded the discovery of any 
important organism in the urine. 
In one of Ferry’s reports he stated that recent findings 
had proved conclusively that the symptom of diarrheea is 
one of the most important, as the B. bronchisepticus may 
be found in large numbers in the early intestinal dis- 
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