456 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



five days of the mouths and nasal passages of those animals that have 

 been exposed. 



(3) Complete disinfection of all stalls and sheds. 



The disease appears to break out in winter and hold over to spring. 

 It is conceivable that exposure to cold might so disturb the normal 

 circulation of the oral tissues as to make the mucous membrane an 

 excellent location for the causative factor of the disease. There is 

 another possibility, however, which bears on the third line of prophy- 

 laxis. The so-called diphtheric inflammations of the vagina and 

 uterus in cows are caused by the same organism that induces necrotic 

 stomatitis. A recent European writer has pointed out the almost 

 constant relation of such attacks to previous occurrences of foul fQot 

 or foot rot in the same or other cattle on the place. 



In all likelihood the stalls and sheds are the harborers, in such cases, 

 of this germ. It is possible that many of these outbreaks of necrotic 

 stomatitis have some relation to preceding cases of the above-men- 

 tioned diseases and the greater use in winter of the stalls and sheds, 

 thus harboring the Bacillus necrophorus. 



Treatment. — The treatment consists almost solely in careful and 

 extensive cleansing and disinfection of the mouth and other affected 

 surfaces. The mucous membrane of the mouth should be copiously 

 irrigated with a 2 per cent solution of creolin in warm water. This 

 should be performed at least twice daily. Since exposure to oxygen 

 kills the bacilli, one need have no fear about disturbing or tearing off 

 the caseous patches or necrotic tissue during irrigation. The irriga- 

 tion of the sores should then be followed by the application with a 

 brush or rag on a stick of a paste made with 1 part of salicylic acid 

 and 10 parts of water, or the affected areas may be painted with 

 Lugol's solution of iodin (iodin, 1; potassium iodid, 5; water, 200). 

 Frequent injections into the mouth of 1 per cent carbolic-acid solu- 

 tion make an excellent treatment. The internal administration of 2 

 grams of salicylic acid and 3 grams of chlorate of potash three times 

 a day has also proved very beneficial when accompanied by local 

 antiseptic treatment. 



MALIGNANT CATARRH. 



Malignant catarrh, or infectious catarrhal fever, is an acute infectious 

 disease of cattle preeminently involving the respiratory and digestive 

 tracts, although the sinuses of the head, the eyes, and the urinary 

 and sexual organs are very frequently affected. It is relatively rare 

 in this country, being more common on the continent of Europe. 

 Outbreaks have occurred, however, in Minnesota, New York, and 

 New Jersey. The causal agent of the disease has as yet never been 

 isolated, and inoculation experiments with the view of artificially 

 reproducing the disease have proven negative in every case. In spite 

 of the foregoing statements the consensus of opinion of eminent 



