328 ACUTE GENERAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES 



lips and cheeks. Caries of the teeth may occur. The Ups, 

 cheeks, and tongue are swollen and cyanotic. In rare 

 instances ulcerous keratitis has been observed. The lambs 

 are very weak and die under symptoms of cachexia. In rare 

 instances after a long time improvement follows. Complete 

 recovery is, however, rare. As a rule the animals are stunted 

 by chronic pneumonia and resulting cachexia. 



The chronic form is seen usually only in adult sheep. 

 Sometimes it develops from the acute form. The symptoms 

 are those of a severe, chronic pneumonia. The sheep cough, 

 show dyspnea, moderate mucopurulent nasal and eye dis- 

 charge, and gradual emaciation. In some cases there develop 

 swellings of the carpal and tarsal joints and purulent inflam- 

 mation of the hoof matrix. In most cases, however, the 

 symptoms are those of a general cachexia. 



In some districts in which this infection prevails, coinci- 

 dently animal parasitism is associated with the disease 

 (strongyls, tapeworms, liver flukes). 



Diagnosis. — ^The acute cases might be confused with 

 anthrax. However, the normal spleen, absence of gelatinous 

 blood extravasations, and hematuria usually suffice for dif- 

 ferentiation. Subacute and chronic cases so much resemble 

 the lung and stomach worm plague of lambs that differentia- 

 tion would be very difficult provided parasites were found. 

 Braxy affects yearling sheep in the fall and winter months. 

 It is characterized by its rapid, fatal course and the hemor- 

 rhagic areas in the abomasum and duodenum found on 

 necropsy. Icterohematuria of sheep presents on postmortem 

 besides icterus, hemorrhagic inflammation of the abomasum, 

 duodenum and rectiun, enlargement of the spleen, the pulp of 

 which contains large numbers of the piroplasmosse ovis. 



Treatment and Prevention. — Medicinal treatment is largely 

 useless. A slaughter of all sheep chronically affected is recom- 

 mended. The sheep should be removed from infected pas- 

 tures and a thorough disinfection of the sheepfold should 

 follow. As animal endoparasites probably facilitate the 

 bacterial infection, the sheep should not only be kept rid of 

 worms, but kept from worm-brood infested pastm-es. 



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