306 RABIES 



§ 232. Differential diagnosis. Foot and mouth disease 

 must be differentiated from (i) various forms of stomatitis 

 caused by different fungi and often referred to as sporadic 

 aphtliae, (2) from stomatitis due to drugs and injuries, (3) 

 from actinomycosis of the tongue and (4) from variola. It 

 must also be differentiated from simple cellulitis, often of 

 streptococcic origin, in the subcutaneous tissue about the 

 coronet and from the sloughing of the hoof resulting from the 

 extension of the inflammatory process and from eczemas due 

 to dietary causes. The means of differentiating these must be 

 found largely in the history of the cases and in the study of 

 the nature of the lesions themselves. 



§233. Prevention. Preventive inoculations do not seem 

 to have given satisfactory results. The isolating of the diseased 

 animal and the placing of the well ones in non-infected fields 

 and stables tend very largely to the checking of the spread of the 

 disease. The milk of the diseased animal should be sterilized 

 before it is used. 



REFERENCES. 

 WAi^rEV. The Four Bovine Scourges. 1879. p. 5i. 



RABIES. 



Synonyms. Hydrophobia ; canine madness. 



§ 234. Characterization. Rabies is an acute infectious 

 disease transmitted from animal to animal or from animal to 

 man by the bite of the rabid individual or bj' direct inocula- 

 tion. It is not known to be contracted or transmitted in an}- 

 other manner. It is characterized by a long and variable 

 period of incubation, followed by symptoms referable to the 

 nervous system lasting from one to ten days ending in paralysis 

 and death, without recognizable gross anatomical changes. 



The dog is the animal most commonly' affected although 

 all of the canine and feline races seem to suffer from rabies 

 more than other species. All warm blooded animals appear to 

 be susceptible. It is a serious disease in man, cattle, sheep, 

 horses and swine. An explanation for its greater frequency 



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