Symptoms. Diagnosis. 123 



tion. In some cases there develops a swelling of the carpal and 

 tarsal joints, or a suppurative inflammation of the coronary 

 band and of the sensitive lamina. 



In some outbreaks thread worms may be found in the 

 abomasum and the air passages, or in both places, or tape 

 worms in the small intestines, while in the bile ducts dystomas 

 may be present in varyjng numbers. 



Diagnosis. The acute cases may easily be mistaken for 

 anthrax, from which the disease differs clinically only by the 

 absence of the heniaturia. On autopsy, however, the absence 

 of extensive gelatinous infiltrations and hemorrhages as well 

 as the absence of an acute swelling of the spleen makes a prob- 

 able differentiation possible. In the subacute and chronic cases 

 the presence of inflammatory changes in the lungs and serous 

 membranes is indicative of hemorrhagic septicemia, especially 

 in cases in which the lungs contain no lung parasites. "Bradsot" 

 usually affects only older sheep during the fall and winter 

 months, and is characterized principally by rapid putrefaction 

 as- well as by the severe inflammation of the abomasum and 

 duodenum. In piroplasmosis there is a pronounced acute 

 swelling of the spleen in addition to the characteristic condition 

 of the blood. In cases in which the lungs and intestinal canal 

 contain intestinal parasites in great numbers, especial care 

 should be taken in the diagnosis inasmuch as the demonstration 

 of a few bipolar bacilli does not of itself prove the presence of 

 hemorrhagic septicemia. 



Treatment and Prevention. As there is no method of suc- 

 cessful treatment it is advisable to kill the chronically affected 

 animals. The remaining animals in the band may be immunized 

 and a further spread of the disease avoided. For this purpose 

 the affected flock should if possible be taken to a large pasture 

 and from this pasture the animals should be changed to others 

 from time to time. If on account of unfavorable weather 

 stabling cannot be avoided, the stables should be cleaned and 

 disinfected- at frequent intervals in addition to the isolation of 

 the affected animals. As animal endoparasites favor the bacte- 

 rial infection, the animals should not be pastured on damp 

 ground, in order to prevent the disease. 



Immunization. Lignieres obtained good results with, his poly- 

 valent vaccine (see page 85) of which he injected one-quarter cc. 

 subcutaneously to sucking lambs. Animals inoculated by this method 

 later resisted an intravenous injection of virulent culture, while the 

 control animals died either from an acute or a chrome form of the 

 disease. The polyvalent immune serum (see page 124) is also sup- 

 posed to have proved effective against the disease. 



Miessner & Schem obtained satisfactory results in protecting, and 

 sometimes also in curing, animals from the disease with the serum 

 of horses which had been hyperimmunized with cultures of the bacillus 

 ovisepticus. However, for- practical purposes they preferred a simul- 



