346 TwBNTY-FiEST Biennial Eepoet 



losses by deatk wlien compared to the number of animals 

 exposed has been small. This can be accounted for by 

 the early diagnosis and the effective vaccination of ex- 

 posed animals. 



Rabies (Hydrophobia). 



Rabies is an acute, contagious disease most com- 

 monly found to exist in dogs, cats and other carniverous 

 animals. It may be transmitted to man and to other ani- 

 mals by the bite of an affected animal. It is always fatal 

 except where treatment is begun before clinical symp- 

 toms of the disease are manifested. The danger of the 

 bite of a rabid animal depends entirely upon the viru- 

 lence of the saliva and the number of nerves and lym- 

 phatic vessels in the wounded part of the body. After 

 the bite of a rabid animal the disease does not always 

 follow, barely in 60% of the cases. The disease, no mat- 

 ter how virulent, cannot penetrate through the uninfected 

 skin. All animals are susceptible, and the breed or sex 

 has absolutely no influence on susceptibility. It is be- 

 lieved that young animals manifest the disease after a 

 shorter period of incubation than older animals. The 

 disease is usually manifested in from two to eight weeks 

 after the bite, but the period of incubation has been 

 known to extend to several months. The disease is char- 

 acterized by extreme nervousness and excitability in the 

 early stages, followed by periods of depression and pa- 

 ralysis invariably ending in death in from two to four 

 days. Violent rabies attacks most commonly dogs living 

 in the open and of a biting nature, while dumb rabies is 

 that most commonly found in house dogs and pets. The 

 same symptoms are presented in almost all other ani- 

 mals, except that herbivora have not the intense desire 

 to wound by biting. There is a theory of long standing 

 that the rabid animal was afraid of water and would die 

 at sight of it. This is a mistake, as it has been proven 

 that the rabid animal has an abnormal thirst and will 

 drink whenever the opportunity presents itsel¥ until in 

 the later stages of the disease the muscles of the throat 

 become paralyzed and frequently a general collapse fol- 

 lows the excitement and the frequent attempts to swallow. 



