248 SWINE PKACTICE 



always well to observe the wound on the second day to make certain 

 that all larvK have been removed. However clinicians report that 

 this line of treatment is wholly ineffective, claiming better results 

 are obtained from the treatment for screw-worm infestation given on 

 page 198. 



Flea Infestation 



Representatives of the order, Siphonaptera, constantly inhabit hog 

 houses and pens in some sections of the country. These parasites are 

 blood suckers and obtain their nourishment directly from the swine, 

 but do not appear to cause any serious trouble. No doubt they pro- 

 duce some irritation where they pierce the skin, and swine thrive 

 better in their absence. Fleas breed in filth, the ova being deposited 

 in fecal matter or other filth. The larval and pupal stages also take 

 place in filth and in the soil, the entire cycle from adult to adult 

 requiring about one month. 



Fleas may be lessened in number and ultimately eradicated from 

 most premises by persistent cleanliness and by dipping the swine 

 in some standard dip everj- ten days for a period of six weeks. 



Louii iness ( Phthiriasis ) 



Phthiriasis, or lousiness, is the most common parasitic disease of 

 swine. The hog louse, Hematopinus suis, is a blood-sucking louse 

 and one of the largest of known lice. The adult o vigorous female 

 cements the ova on the hair behind the ears, in the flank region, and 

 elsewhere. The ova hatch into small lice in from ten days to two 

 weeks. These lice do damage by direct abstraction of blood and by 

 irritation of the skin, which causes more or less pruritus. This makes 

 the swine restless and, not receiving their proper rest, they probably 

 do riot do as well as they otherwise would. 



It is not a difficult matter to eradicate lice, but their permanent 

 elimination from swine entails continued vigilance. "Where large 

 numbers of swine are infested the most economical plan is to put in a 

 dipping vat and dip the hogs every ten days for three or four dip- 

 pings. In the meantime the sleeping quarters should be cleaned and 

 dipping solution used here as a spray. If there are only a few swine 

 to treat, hand dressing with some standard dip is the most economical 

 method of treating them, or if the swine have a tank or place where 

 they wallow, some dipping solution may be placed therein. The swine 

 thus dip themselves and destroy the lice. 



