Infectious Abortion of Mares 477 



Ostertag produced further evidence of the non-identity of in- 

 fectious abortion, in various species, by experiment. He inocu- 

 lated two pregnant goats vs^ith the membranes of foals which had 

 been expelled as a result of infectious abortion, and each of them 

 gave birth to living and vigorous kids. He further attempted ex- 

 perimental inoculation in four pregnant mares and ten pregnant 

 cows, with the result that two of the mares aborted, the one after 

 8 days and the other after 20 days. Each fetus contained the 

 cocci of abortion. The other two mares gave birth to living 

 foals after 8 and 17 days respectively. The foals were weak and 

 the chorion of each contained abortion cocci. The foal expelled 

 on the 8th day after inoculation died soon after birth, while the 

 other recovered and developed normally. 



The ten experimental cows resisted the inoculation completely. 

 Neither the introduction of portions of afterbirth or fetal fluids 

 into the vaginse of pregnant cows from aborted foals, nor the 

 inoculation of them with abortion cocci induced abortion. 



Whether we examine the question in the light of clinical ex- 

 perience, bacteriologic study or inoculation experiments, it 

 appears certain that the infectious abortion of one species of ani- 

 mal is fundamentally and essentially different from that of an- 

 other and that there is no probability of the disease spreading 

 from one species of animal to another, in a natural way. Even 

 by artificial inoculation, there is little to indicate that the disease, 

 as such, can be transferred from one species to another. 



We shall, therefore, deal with infectious abortion as a separate 

 malady for each of our domestic animals, although granting that 

 there may be a more or less intimate relationship existing be- 

 tween them, but not of a sufficient degree to render an outbreak 

 of abortion in one species dangerous for other species which may 

 come in close contact with the affected animals. 



A. Infectious Abortion of Mares. 



Fleming (Animal Plagues) records the occurrence of abortion 

 prior to the Christian era, though definite records of the disease 

 were not made to any great extent until late in the i8th century. 

 As with all other infectious diseases, there was much doubt as to 

 the infectious character of the malady until after the middle of 

 the 19th century, when a large proportion of the foremost veter- 



