366 ACUTE GENERAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES 



While in the initial stage the bowels are constipated, after 

 the second day a profuse diarrhea sets in, the liquid feces 

 are mixed with blood and fibrinous clots. The patients lose 

 flesh rapidly. In some outbreaks there appear in the skin of 

 the udder or scrotum, inner surface of the thighs, around the 

 vulva and nose a nodular and pustular exanthema. In milk 

 cows lactation stops, the udder becoming relaxed and smaller. 

 The pulse varies, from 50 to 100. From the vulva in some 

 cases there is a dirty, mucopurulent discharge from the 

 inflamed mucosa. 



Diagnosis. — The recognition of the first cases of cattle 

 plague is diSicult. The disease is characterized by its sudden 

 appearance, the rapid development of the symptoms and the 

 peculiar lesions found on the visible mucous membranes. Of 

 great importance is a clear history of the origin of the out- 

 break and the opportunity presented for the disease to be 

 introduced on the premises. Cattle plague may be confused 

 with the following : 



Malignant Head Catarrh. — Here while the mucous mem- 

 branes of- the head (eyes, nose) are severely involved, the 

 digestive and genital tracts are mildly involved. Keratitis is 

 more pronounced in this disease. Further, malignant head 

 catarrh occurs sporadically and is not contagious. 



Foot-and-mouth Disease. — ^Would only be confused with 

 cattle plague when the mouth erosions following the rupture 

 of the vesicle were deep and covered with a pesudomembrane 

 and gastro-enteritis was present. Foot-and-mouth disease, 

 however, is characterized by vesicle formation, affects the 

 feet and usually does not involve the eyes and nose. Its 

 spread is further much more rapid than the cattle plague. 



Course. — The course is usually five to seven days, ending in 

 death. Toward the end of an outbreak a few cases may 

 recover. 



Prognosis. — The prognosis is bad, 80 to 90 per cent, of the 

 cases prove fatal. In the gray cattle of the Russian steppes 

 the mortality is not over 50 per cent. 



Treatment. — Medicinal treatment is of no value. Good 

 results are recorded from the use of anti-rinderpest serum 

 coupled with a strict sanitation. 



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