94 DISEASES OF THE DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



sawdust, will prevent to a considerable degree their presence. The 

 best remedies are Persian insect powder, applied to the dampened 

 hair by an insect powder-blower, and a 2 per cent, lysol or creolin 

 bath. In using the powder it is well to keep the patient outdoors 

 for a time, as the fleas leave him after the use of the powder. In 

 puppies and kittens the powder may be fatal if licked off. The 

 lysol or creolin bath, followed by washing in plain water and drying, 

 is perfectly safe. Carbolic soap is also effective against fleas. 



Foot-and-Mouth Disease — Epizootic Eczema. 



An infectious, febrile disease characterized by the eruption of 

 vesicles in the mouth, between the toes and about the coronets, and 

 on the udder and perineum. 



This disease is peculiar to cattle, sheep, swine and goats, but is 

 sometimes communicated to horses, dogs, cats, birds and other ani- 

 mals and to man. It spreads with alarming rapidity and may be 

 conveyed by all the secretions and excretions of the sick, and by 

 premises or even roads, railroads, stock and barnyards and pastures 

 over which the sick have walked ; by utensils, hay litter, attendants, 

 animals and any objects coming in contact with patients. 



The disease is acquired by man — and especially babies — chiefly 

 through the ingestion of raw milk, buttermilk, butter and cheese 

 derived from sick cows, and by milkers and attendants on sick ani- 

 mals. The cause of foot-and-mouth disease is a germ so small that 

 it readily passes through unglazed porcelain filters and the organism 

 has not yet been isolated. The period of incubation is 3-5 days; 

 the duration of the disease about 8-14 days; and of an Outbreak in 

 a barn about 1-2 months. 



Symptoms. — In cattle, sheep and swine there is a period of 

 anorexia and loss of spirits for a few days, ending in chills and fever 

 (as high as 106 F.) and the appearance in 24 to 48 hours of ves- 

 icles, increasing in size from a pea to a silver half-dollar or larger, 

 on the tongue, lips, gums, dental pad, buccal mucous membrane and 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



