APPENDIX B. 



HYDROPHOBIA. / 



Synonyms : — Rabies. French, la Rage. German, Lyssa, 

 die hundswuth, die tollwuth. 



Introductory. — Hydrophobia is an infectious disease which in 

 nature occurs epidemically chiefly among the carnivora, especially in 

 the dog and the wolf. Infection is carried by the bite of a rabid ani- 

 mal 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, horses, and deer, 

 and can be communicated to man ; but in modern times at least, infec- 

 tion practically never takes place from man to man, though such an 

 occurrence is quite possible. 



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 depres- 

 sion may predominate, it is customary to describe clinically two varieties 

 of rabies, (i) rabies proper, or furious rabies {la rage vraie, la rage 

 furieuse : die rasende WutK) ; and (2) diimb madness or paralytic rabies 

 {la rage mue : die stille WutK). 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 aspect ; it becomes restless, it snaps 

 at anything which it touches, and tears up and swallows unwonted 

 objects ; it has a peculiar high-toned bark. Spasms of the throat 

 muscles come on, especially in swallowing, and there is abundant secre- 

 tion of saliva ; its supposed special fear of water is, however, a myth, 

 — it fears to swallow at all. Gradually convulsions, paralysis, and coma 

 come on ; and death supervenes. In the paralytic form, the early symp- 

 toms are the same, but.paralysis appears sooner. The lower jaw of the 

 animal drops, from implication of the elevator muscles, all the muscles 



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