Veterinary Police* 493 



linger also applied this method to 4 horses suspected of infection, in- 

 jecting subcutaneously 700 cc. of a mixture of serum and fixed virus 

 each in a dilution of 1 :1000. The horses remained healthy. 



Veterinary Police, According to the veterinary police or- 

 dinances, which are nearly everywhere alike, all animals suf- 

 fering from rabies must be destroyed, and all those suspected 

 of haying the disease or of being infected must be placed under 

 veterinary observation; dogs and cats, however, with the 

 exception of those which have bitten human beings, are to be 

 killed on the first suspicion of infection. The time of observa- 

 tion must be at least 3 months, and even then an outbreak 

 of the disease cannot with certainty be excluded. Meat or milk 

 from rabid or suspicious animals must not be used for con- 

 sumption, but such products from animals only suspected of 

 being infected may be put on the market without hesitation as 

 long as these animals appear completely healthy. 



The most important and effective prophylactic measure 

 for eradicating rabies in large sections of country is the gen- 

 eral obligatory dog tax. The latter has caused a reduction of 

 cases where it has been adopted and in some countries the com- 

 plete eradication of the disease by reducing the number of dogs, 

 particularly vagrant and ownerless dogs, and thereby reducing 

 the opportunity for infection. On the other band, the obliga- 

 tory muzzling of dogs was found effective only in connection 

 with the dog tax and with other measures of prevention (killing 

 of bitten dogs and cats and the longest possible quarantine), 

 and it can moreover only be applied in larger towns and cities. 

 A reduction in the number of cases of rabies can only be accom- 

 plished by carrying out the same preventive measures in large 

 districts. 



Bavaria offers an instructive illustration of the favorable results obtained in 

 the reduction of rabies. Prom 1863 to 1876, 14 to 18 human beings were 

 victims of the disease annually, while the number of rabid dogs amounted to about 

 500 every year. Under the influence of the obligatory dog tax introduced in 1876, 

 the number of rabid dogs was reduced to 61 in 1893, and from 1883 to 1898 no 

 human beings died from rabies. In the years 1898 to 1900 fatal cases of rabies 

 and suspieiots instances were again observed, but only through being introduced 

 from outside, particularly from the East (Kitt). Like favorable conditions prevail 

 in Saxony where the number of rabid dogs was reduced to 22 from 1879 to 1893. 

 In the Grand Duchy of Baden, the introduction of the dog tax in connection 

 with obligatory muzzling, in the year 1875, resulted in a rapid decrease and finally 

 in the complete eradication of rabies. 



In Hungary, the favorable results of the dog tax were apparent during the 

 first years after the enactment of the veterinary law of 1888, as the number of 

 rabid dogs was reduced from 1,286 to 609 during the years 1890 to 1892; later, 

 however, the disease again increased owing to the faulty enforcement of the tax 

 law and to the fact that it had not been made obligatory in all communities. 

 Szakall showed from statistical data that rabies was more rare in communities with 

 a general obligatory dog tax, but appeared more frequently where exemptions from 

 the dog tax had been granted for certain kinds of dogs. 



That muzzling alone is not sufficient to eradicate the disease completely 

 is shown in the City of Berlin. During the years 1853-1875 obligatory muzzling 

 was in force, but in spite of it rabies sometimes assumed an enzootic character 

 (1865-1867, 1871-1873). After the promulgation of the Prussian law of 1875, the 

 disease decreased rapidly, and since 1883 only isolated cases of rabies have been 

 observed. 



