DISEASES OF NEWBORN ANIMALS 311 



the liver. The local symptoms may abate in a few days and 

 the patient recover, or, on the other hand, a general septic 

 i'nfection ending in death results. Not infrequently metas- 

 tatic abscesses form in parenchymatous organs producing 

 symptoms varying with their distributibn: 



(a) Lungs. — If the lungs are involved the young patient 

 will cough, have nasal discharge and show dyspnea. On 

 auscultation bronchial sounds, rales, and rhonchi may be 

 heard and on percussion areas of dulness and tympany. The 

 animal becomes anemic, emaciated, and extremely weak, re- 

 maining most of the time lying on the sternum. In this form 

 it may linger several weeks. 



(b) Stomach and Bowels. — The principal symptoms are 

 loss of appetite, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. The feces 

 are like those described under Dysentery of Newborn 

 Animals. 



(c) Spinal Cord. — When the cord is invaded by metastatic 

 abscesses, symptoms of paraplegia appear. These may come 

 on suddenly or gradually and follow a period of apparent 

 recovery. In some cases of spinal paralysis the preceding 

 navel symptoms may have been entirely overlooked. 



(d) Brain. — The patient is usually very dull and uncon- 

 scious of its surroundings. It may show forced movements, 

 spasms and convulsions, opisthotonos, wry-neck, and par- 

 alysis. 



Diagnosis. — Generally not difficult. When diarrhea is 

 present a differentiation between joint ill and dysentery is 

 impossible. If the navel is intact and joint swellings are 

 absent, the diagnosis could be made only by a knowledge 

 that the disease exists on the premises (other sucklings show- 

 ing a more characteristic form of the disease). 



Course. — Peracute cases die in twelve to forty-eight hours. 

 In the acute, septicemic form the patients die in two or three 

 days. In subacute cases, especially when the infection occurred 

 late after birth, the navel infection remains local and eventu- 

 ally heals, the patient under proper treatment recovering in 

 two or three weeks. Chronic (lung) cases may last one or 

 two months. If the abscesses in the lungs or liver become 

 fully encapsuled, recovery may even take place. 



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