174 DISEASES OF THE BLOOD 



acterized by a tendency to bleed from the gums and to 

 hemorrhage in various organs of the body. In animals the 

 disease is probably infectious. ' In man scurvy is most often 

 seen among sailors and persons who live upon salted meats 

 and canned food but get no vegetables. Drinking lime juice • 

 and eating fresh vegetables usually bring about a rapid cure. 



INFECTIOUS ANEMIA OF THE HORSE. 



Swamp Fever. Riverbottom Disease. Loin 

 Distemper. 



Definition. — An infectious disease of horses which is char- 

 acterized by being a specific septicemia accompanied by 

 intermittent or remittent fever, albuminuria and ultimately 

 progressive anemia. It is probably due to a filterable virus. 



Occurrence. — Infectious anemia, while confined to infected 

 areas in a country, is widely distributed. It occurs on the 

 Continent of Europe and in North America where it has been 

 reported from the province of Manitoba and the States of 

 Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Wyoming, 

 Colorado, Washington, Mississippi and Texas. It also occurs 

 in the Panama Canal Zone. While probably most prevalent 

 it is by no means confined to swampy districts but appears 

 on high, well-drained lands. Naturally the disease is con- 

 fined to the horse, although other equidse may be infected 

 artificially. Most of the cases occur during the summer and 

 early fall. While it may appear at other times of the year, 

 cold weather seems to cause its abatement. As the disease 

 affects a large number of horses on infected farms, rendering 

 them incapable of performing work and causing many deaths, 

 its economic importance locally is very great. In a herd of 

 28 horses used for railroad construction in North Dakota in 

 the year 1908, the loss from infectious anemia was 17. In 

 another reported instance in the same State, of 242 head the 

 loss sustained in a single year was 98 (40.5 per cent.). While 

 it is very probable that the laity in swamp-fever districts are 

 apt to accredit to this disease losses in horse flesh from other 

 causes, nevertheless it forms a serious menace to the horse 



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