TUBERCULOSIS 189 



TUBERCULOSIS 



Tuberculosis seems to be a very rare disease of horses. 

 Whether this is true in fact, or whether it is merely appar- 

 ent because it frequently goes unrecognized, is hard to 

 say. Those cases that have been reported have been diag- 

 nosed postmortem. The symptoms produced by the dis- 

 ease do not seem to be very characteristic, and can easily 

 be mistaken for the manifestations of glanders. 



Tuberculosis is suggested by such symptoms as chronic 

 cough, nasal discharge, respiratory impediment resem- 

 bling pulmonary emphysema, inanition and weakness. 

 Enlargement of lymphatic glands, irregular temperature, 

 and otherwise unexplainable functional disorders of a 

 chronic type must also be considered as having a possible 

 tuberculous origin. 



When the disease is suspected the animal should be 

 subjected to a test with tuberculin. It is possible that 

 the routine testing of horses With tuberculin, in a manner 

 similar to such tests in cows, would show that the disease 

 does occur with greater frequency than is generally con- 

 ceded. If the horse does, on the other hand, possess such 

 marked natural resistance to this disease as the scarcity 

 of recorded cases would now indicate, the identity of the 

 secret of this immunity should be investigated. Its rec- 

 ognition might be of incalculable benefit in the prevention 

 and treatment of tuberculosis in other species. 



