INFECTIOUS DISEASES OF CATTLE. 459 



mucous membrane and even involve the underlying bony structure. 

 In severe cases membranous (croupous) deposits are found in the 

 throat. Similar deposits have been found upon the mucous mem- 

 brane of the fourth stomaeh and intestine, which is always inflamed. 

 There is more or les3 inflammation of the membranes of the brain, 

 kidneys, liver, and some fatty degeneration of the voluntary muscles. 

 In countries where rinderpest occasionally appears it may be difficult 

 to distinguish between it and malignant catarrh, owing to a general 

 similarity of the symptoms. The principal points to be observed in 

 differentiating between the two diseases are the very slight transmis- 

 sibility of the latter as compared with the intense contagiousness of 

 the former, and the tendency of malignant catarrh to run a more 

 chronic course than rinderpest, which usually results fatally in a very 

 few days. Only a trained veterinarian who takes into consideration 

 all the different symptoms and lesions of both diseases should decide 

 in such cases. 



Treatment. — There is no specific treatment for this affection. How- 

 ever, copious blood letting in the earliest stages has been highly rec- 

 ommended, as this has a tendency to deplete the system and lessen 

 the exudation of inflammatory products. Antiseptic washes, as cre- 

 olin, 2 to 4 per cent solution, or lysol, 5 per cent solution, applied to 

 the nose, eyes, and mouth with ice poultices over the crest of the 

 head and frontal region have also proved efficacious. Calomel should 

 also be given in 1-dram doses twice a day for three days, and in 

 severe cases, involving the respiratory tract, a powder containing 

 ferrous sulphate, quinine, and subnitrate of bismuth, given twice a 

 day, will be found beneficial. At the same time it must be remem- 

 bered that much greater success is to be looked for in the preventive 

 treatment. This consists in the removal of the healthy from the 

 infected animals (not vice versa) and thorough cleaning and disin- 

 fecting of the contaminated stables. If the floors are low and damp, 

 they should be raised and made dry. If this can not be done, place 

 a layer of cement under the stable floor to prevent water from enter- 

 ing from below. The stable should be well ventilated and the soil in 

 the pastures thoroughly drained. If this is carefully carried cut, the 

 contagion should be destroyed and the danger of the reappearance of 

 the disease in a great measure lessened. 



MALIGNANT EDEMA. 



Malignant edema, also termed gangrenous septicemia, is an acute 

 inflammatory disease of domestic and wild animals, resulting from 

 the introduction of a specific organism into the deep connective tissues 

 of a susceptible animal and proving fatal in many instances within 

 twenty-four to forty-eight hours. The disease may be inoculated from 

 one animal to another, but only by inserting the virus deeply belcw the 

 skin. It is infrequently met with in cattle, but may follow operating 



