386 DISEASES INVOLVING NERVOUS SYSTEM 



from day to day grow weaker and more emaciated and finally 

 get down and are unable to rise. 



Death usually occurs about the seventh to ninth day. In 

 some outbreaks the disease takes a fatal termination in three 

 to six days. 



As in the horse, paralytic symptoms (dysphagia, bloating, 

 constipation, paraplegia) may appear without being preceded 

 by a furious stage. The patients get up from a recumbent 

 position with difficulty, walk with a staggering gait, show 

 marked ptyalism, bellow continuously; food and water are 

 regurgitated through the nose and mouth; finally they lie 

 prone on the ground, unable to rise, show spasms of the 

 diaphragm and other muscles, and, the temperature dropping 

 below normal, die in five to seven days. 



Sheep. — In general, the symptoms in sheep are similar to 

 those in cattle, although, as a rule, the patients are not as 

 aggressive and destructive in their tendencies. A very com- 

 mon symptom is increased sexual desire, the affected sheep 

 mounting their fellows. Occasionally aggressive symptoms 

 are observed, the otherwise shy animal attacking by butting 

 the other sheep, dogs, or even persons who enter the pasture. 

 Occasionally they try to bite. The disease usually lasts three 

 to five days, and ends in paralysis and death. 



Swine. — In hogs the symptoms are quite similar to those 

 observed in dogs. The patients are very restless, keep run- 

 ning around the pen, and squealing in a hoarse voice. They 

 bury themselves in the straw and gnaw the parts where bitten. 

 Sudden noises arouse them, and occasionally they will attack 

 other animals and man. There is usually profuse ptyalism. 

 Water they attempt to drink, but usually cannot swallow. 

 Quite commonly young pigs will come together head on and 

 push each other around the inclosure. In a few instances the 

 disease resembles the dumb form in dogs, and the patients 

 show no aggressive symptoms but are simply paralyzed, un- 

 able to swallow, show changed voice, and die in two to five 

 days. 



Diagnosis. — Where there is history of the animal having 

 been bitten and the symptoms of the different stages well 

 developed a diagnosis intra vitam is usually not difficult. In 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



