APPENDIX B. 



HYDROPHOBIA. 



SYNONYMS.— BABIES : FRENCH, LA RAGE: GERMAN, LYSSA,. 

 DIE HUNDWUTH, DIE TOLLWUTH. 



Introductory. — Hydrophobia is an infectious disease which in 

 nature occurs epidemically chiefly among the carnivora, especi- 

 ally in the dog and the wolf. Infection, is carried by the bite 

 of a rabid animal or by a wound or abrasion being licked by 

 such. The disease can be transferred to other species, and 

 when once started can be spread from individual to individual 

 by the same paths of infection. Thus it occurs epidemically 

 from time to time in cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, and deer, and 

 can be communicated to man. Cases of infection from man to 

 man by bite are recorded, but the saliva in man does not appear 

 to be so infectious as in dogs. It is to be noted that the virus 

 is apparently extremely potent, as cases of infection taking place 

 through an unabraded mucous membrane by the licking of a rabid 

 animal are on record, and the experimental applications of the 

 virus to such surfaces as the mucous membrane of the nose or 

 the conjunctiva is often followed by infection. 



In Western Europe the disease is most frequently observed 

 in the dog; but in Eastern Europe, especially in Russia, 

 epidemics among wolves constitute a serious danger both to 

 other animals and to man. All the manifestations of the disease 

 point to a serious affection of the nervous system ; but inasmuch 

 as symptoms of excitement or of depression may predominate, 

 it is customary to describe clinically two varieties of rabies — (1) 

 rabies proper, or furious rabies (la rage vraie, la rage furieuse ; 

 die rasende Wuth) ; and (2) dumb madness or paralytic rabies (la 

 rage mue ; die stille Wuth). The disease, however, is essentially 

 the same in both cases. In the dog the furious form is the 

 more common. After a period of incubation of from three to 

 six weeks, the first symptom noticed is a change in the animal's 



