72 



SWINE PI.AGUE 



Annual Report of the Bureau of Animal Industry for 1886. 

 Smith described swine plague as an independent disease, 

 although it is often associated with hog cholera in the same 

 animal. On account of its frequent association with hog 

 cholera, it has been thought by some investigators to be a 

 secondary infection only. In 1895 the writer investigated 

 several outbreaks of this disease in southern Minnesota where 

 it occurred uncomplicated with hog cholera. More recently 

 two epizootics of swine plague have been studied in New York 

 State where no evidence was found of its being a secondary 

 infection but where in every particular its independent nature 

 was indicated. 



§ 67. Geographical distribution. Swine plague is a 

 wide spread disease in this country. It seems to occur more 

 or less frequently in every state in the Union. It is quite 



widely distributed in Ger- 

 many, but to what extent it 

 exists in other countries 

 there is little or no available 

 evidence. 



§ 68. Etiology. Swine 

 plague is cau.sed by a non- 

 motile, elongated, oval bac- 

 terium described by Smith in 

 1886. It is identical with 

 the bacillus of Schweineseuche 

 decribed by Loeffler in 1885. 

 Fig. 9. Bacterium oj swine plague Hueppe proposed the name 

 from a cover-glass preparation of a Bacterium septice7niae hemor- 

 rabbit s Itver. , . ^ , . 



rhagicae for this organism. 



Hutyra has found a filterable virus in the blood and other 

 parts of pigs suffering with Schweineseuche. The possibility 

 of a mixed infection in this case is not excluded. Other 

 European observers have reported similar findings. 



The bacterium of swine plague and its varieties have not 

 been systematically studied and classified. It has already 



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