426 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 



than it could be cured. As already pointed out, it has 

 been found impossible to prevent absolutely the spread 

 of the contagion by the strictest quarantine alone, under 

 the usual farm conditions. In addition, the affected 

 animals that have passed through the disease may be- 

 come a source of further infection as virus carriers for 

 weeks and months after they have apparently recovered, 

 and are susceptible of reinfection, as one attack does not 

 confer permanent immunity. 



Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Man. — Foot-and-mouth 

 disease is primarily and principally a disease of cattle ; 

 secondarily and casually, a disease of man. It is trans- 

 missible to man through the eating or drinking of raw 

 milk, buttermilk, butter, cheese, and whey from animals 

 suffering from foot-and-mouth disease. It is also trans- 

 mitted directly, though more rarely, from the salivary 

 secretions or other infected material which may gain 

 entrance through the mucous membrane of the mouth. 

 It is doubtful whether the disease can be transmitted to 

 man by cutaneous or subcutaneous inoculation, though 

 it is probable that the infection may be communicated if 

 the virus directly enters the blood through wounds of 

 any kind. Children are not infrequently infected by 

 drinking unboiled milk during the periods in which the 

 disease is prevalent in the neighborhood, while persons 

 in charge of diseased animals may become infected 

 through contact with the diseased parts or by milking, 

 slaughtering, or caring for the animals. 



The symptoms in man resemble those observed in ani- 

 mals. There is fever, sometimes vomiting, painful swal- 

 lowing, heat and dryness of the mouth, followed by an 

 eruption of vesicles on the mucous membrane of the 

 mouth, and very rarely by similar ones on the fingers. 



