HOG CHOLERA 423 
exhibits other evidence of being infected. In the very acute form 
this may be the only recognizable symptom. The temperature 
attains the maximum elevation about the seventh day. 
When pigs live long enough to show physical symptoms there is a 
general depression, appetite poor or entirely gone. The animals 
usually stand or lie apart from others. Constipation or-diarrhea may 
exist. The ears hang down, the tail is straight, the conjunctiva is 
congested and there is evidence of general weakness. As the disease 
advances the diarrhea becomes marked. The stain becomes a bluish 
or more scarlet red over the abdomen and about the ears. This is due 
to congestion of the parts. There may be convulsions. There may 
be a cough. There are sometimes necrotic areas on the mucosa of 
the mouth. In the chronic cases the animals become emaciated, the 
abdomen drawn up, the back arched and the gait unsteady. In 
chronic cases there may be secondary infections which may modify the 
symptoms. 
In still more chronic forms the pigs eat fairly well until the end. 
There may or may not be diarrhea. Frequently the bowels are cos- 
tive. It is quite common in these cases to have an active diarrhea 
during the last few days. The color of the discharge depends largely 
on the food. The changes in the respiration and the pulse are difficult 
to determine. There is rarely any cough. Usually the reddening 
of the skin on the nose, ears, abdomen and on the inside of 
the thighs and pubic region is very pronounced. It becomes 
more intense as death approaches. In some cases there is a 
discharge from the eyes. These symptoms vary to such an extent 
that it is usually necessary to make a post-mortem examination before 
a diagnosis can be made. Occasionally it is necessary to examine 
several animals in an outbreak before characteristic lesions are found. 
It not infrequently happens that swine suffering from hog cholera have 
pneumonia. 
The duration of the disease varies. In the per-acute form it may 
not be more than a few hours or a day at the longest. In the acute 
form it lasts from 5 to 7 days. In the chronic form it lasts from one to 
two weeks, sometimes longer. 
The prognosis is not good. Berry states that recoveries are not 
rare. Although there are outbreaks where the mortality reaches from 
80 to 100 per cent., there are others of a milder type where the fatali- 
ties are much less. 
