350 TEXAS FEVER 



§ 264. Characterization. Texas fever is an infectious 

 blood disease of cattle, characterized by rise of temperature, 

 hemoglobinuria, destruction of the red blood corpuscles and 

 the presence in the blood of a protozoan parasite which is 

 transmitted from animal to animal by means of the cattle tick. 



It is believed to be identical with the hemoglobinuria in 

 Roumania, tick fever in Australia; and "La Tristeza " in 

 South America. It has been named malaria des bovides by 

 Celli and Sentori and Malaria bovine by L,ignieres. Although 

 it differs in many ways from human malaria, the analogy is so 

 close respecting the specific cause, wide distribution and means 

 of transmission, that bovine malaria seems to be a very suit- 

 able name for this affection. At least it has the advantage of 

 not stigmatizing any locality. 



The peculiar and interesting feature of this affection is 

 the fact that cattle raised in the infected districts become im- 

 munized so that they do not suffer from the disease but they 

 carry its specific organism in their blood. When imported 

 into non-infected districts, they transmit the virus, by means 

 of the cattle tick, to susceptible animals, but remain them- 

 selves perfectly well. 



§ 265. History. There is little knowledge concerning 

 the early history of this disease. With the development of 

 commerce, however, the shipping and interchange of animals 

 gradually came into prominence and, with it all, this disease 

 which had long been known in certain localities was more 

 widely scattered until finally it came to be an important barrier 

 to the cattle traffic. In i868, this disease seems to have made 

 its first important impression upon the American people. In 

 June of that year, Texas cattle were shipped up the Mississippi 

 river to Cairo and thence by rail into the states of Illinois and 

 Indiana, where they caused during the summer enormous 

 losses from this disease. Cattle from these states shipped east 

 brought the disease with them. The cattle commissioners of 

 New York and the Board of Health of New York City endeav- 

 ored to check the importation of such cattle. The disease was 



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