DISEASES OF NEWBORN ANIMALS 307 



Course. — The course is usually very rapid, leading to death 

 in from twelve to forty-eight hours. The sooner after birth 

 the symptoms appear the more fatal and rapid the course. 

 Occasional cases may linger as long as a week. 



Prognosis. — Bad. Mortality 90 per cent. Recovery follows 

 a protracted convalescence and results in an unthrifty calf 

 (chronic pneumonic lesions). 



Treatment. — Medicinal treatment is usually worse than 

 useless, as it rarely prevents death, and encourages the further 

 spread of the disease. Ordinarily it pays to kill the infected 

 suckling and render its carcass harmless by cremation or deep 

 burial. When an outbreak occurs every effort should be made 

 to eradicate the infected sources by a thorough disinfection of 

 the barn, hind parts and genitals of the dam, before and after 

 parturition, and the navel stump of the newborn animals, if it 

 still be healthy. All fecal discharges should be removed and 

 sterilized with a 2 per cent, formaldehyd solution. The stable 

 partitions, mangers, 1 floors, should be thoroughly disinfected 

 and, if possible, given a coat of whitewash. The after-birth, 

 dead sucklings, and postpartum vaginal discharges should be 

 completely destroyed. The vagina of the dam should be 

 douched with a warm solution of 2 per cent, carbolic acid, the 

 external genitals, buttocks, tail, and udder being also washed 

 with the antiseptic. The navel of the newborn animal should 

 not be ligated, but before it has had an opportunity to become 

 infected, covered with some astringent, antiseptic powder 

 which will aid its desiccation. The meconium is best removed 

 by the colostral milk of the dam, but before sucking is per- 

 mitted the udder and teats should be disinfected with a non- 

 poisonous antiseptic (creolin) . Hand-fed sucklings should be 

 allowed the colostral milk for the first two days. To prevent 

 outbreaks in contaminated premises it is recommended to 

 remove the pregnant dams to uninfected places at least six 

 weeks before parturition. As the infection seems to be re- 

 tained in the genital passages for some time a shorter period 

 does not suffice. Serum therapy has been tried in Europe. 

 A polyvalent colon serum has been employed with some degree 



1 If the floor is earth it should be removed to the depth of at least one 

 foot and then filled in with fresh clay. 



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