PREVENTION, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT I3I 



Swine Erysipelas, it is said, can be distinguished from 

 Swine Plague by the inoculation of a pigeon and guinea-pig. If 

 the guinea-pig dies and the pigeon is unharmed we may conclude it 

 is a case of swine plague, and vice versa. 



Diagnosis. — Hog cholera is the only one of these diseases com- 

 mon to the United States. While food poisoning, tuberculosis and 

 anthrax may cause confusion in the diagnosis of hog cholera, yet 

 the history, symptoms, and post mortem should make the diagnosis 

 clear. Anthrax is rare in hogs and follows the disease in horses, 

 cattle or sheep. It occurs as gloss-anthrax and the tongue and 

 throat are much swollen and bloody froth issues from the mouth. 

 Tuberculosis is usually of slow onset, not often enzootic, and the 

 autopsy shows caseous foci. Diarrhea from improper food is 

 arrested by changing the diet. 



Treatment. — As in most infectious diseases, where there is no 

 specific cure, the prophylaxis is of chief import. This can only be 

 made generally effective when enforced by law. Prophylaxis em- 

 braces the following measures : Inspection, notification of outbreaks, 

 disinfection of infected premises (p. 282), supervision of live and 

 dead animals in markets, in transit and in possession of dealers. 



Animals suspected, or " in contacts " and newly bought ani- 

 mals should be isolated for one month before being turned into a 

 herd of healthy swine. Animals recovered from hog cholera should 

 not be returned among healthy animals until washed with 2 per cent 

 compound cresol solution after isolation for three months. In- 

 fected feed troughs and litter should be burned, manure mixed with 

 quicklime, and the premises cleaned and the ground covered with 

 quicklime. Dead animals should be burned or deeply buried. 



As aids to the general resistance of animals against the disease 

 there should be general cleanliness of the pens and frequent cleans- 

 ing of feed troughs and disinfection of them with the cresol solution 

 noted above. Warm, dry, sleeping quarters and pure drinking 

 water are desirable. 



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