Control and Eradication 491 



and safely disinfected. Any instruments or appartus which he 

 has used about an aborted animal should be most scrupulously and 

 thoroughly disinfected or sterilized. Ropes, cords and other 

 cheap apparatus used in cases of dystokia should not be used 

 again, but should be destroyed. All clothing worn by the ob- 

 stetrist should be of a character which will admit of thorough 

 boiling without injury, and this should always be done before it 

 is used again. Even the case, bag or other container in which 

 the veterinarian transports his instruments, clothing, etc., when 

 attending cases of this kind, should be of a character which will 

 admit of the most scrupulous disinfection. 



When the malady has appeared in a stable or herd of mares, 

 energetic measures should be instituted for its eradication. The 

 following points should be included in any plan : 



1. Immediately destroy, by burning, the aborted fetus and 

 fetal membranes. It is essential that this be carefully and com- 

 pletely done, in such a manner as to eliminate all danger of in- 

 fection from this source. If the fetus or its membranes be 

 dragged, or carried dripping, over a path where pregnant mares 

 may pass, they may get the infection from the infected path as 

 well as from the fetus. Other animals, or persons, crossing the 

 infected path may pick up aud carry the infection to pregnant 

 mares. A vehicle used for carrying away the fetus may serve to 

 bear the infection to pregnant animals. The persons engaged in 

 removing and destroying the fetus may be more dangerous than 

 the aborted fetus itself. 



Every detail in the process of the destruction of the fetus and 

 its membranes should be carefully watched and, at every point of 

 possible infection, disinfection thoroughly applied. 



2. The mare which has aborted should be at once removed 

 from the stable occupied by other pregnant mares and effectively 

 isolated. Even then, it is important to terminate the infection 

 as early as possible, so that the mare which has aborted may no 

 longer serve as a possible center of contagion. 



Internally, the uterus, vagina and vulva are to be thoroughly 

 disinfected by irrigating the uterine cavity with a warm disin- 

 fecting fluid. For this purpose, 2% lysol or carbolic acid or a i 

 to 2500 solution of corrosive sublimate may be employed. The 

 disinfection should be repeated once daily for three or more days, 

 and longer should vaginal discharges be present. 



