ON A SPONTANEOUS DISEASE AMONG AUSTKALIAN RABBITS. 89 



NOTES ON A SPONTANEOUS DISEASE AMONG 

 AUSTRALIAN RABBITS. 



By M. Adrien Loir, 



Director, Pasteur's Australian Institute, Rodd Island, Sydney. 



[Read before the Royal Society of N.S. Wales, September 2, 1891.'] 



During the month of April last, the Chief Inspector of Stock, 

 Mr. A. Bruce, was good enough to send me thirty rabbits, to be 

 used at Rodd Island in conjunction with the experiments which 

 I am carrying out there with the co-operation of Mr. E. Stanley, 

 the Government Veterinarian. After an interval of some days 

 from their arrival, one of the rabbits died and during the six days 

 following upon this first death, I found seven dead bodies in the 

 cage in which they were kept. I then placed each of the remain- 

 ing rabbits in separate cages, so as to allow the disease to take its 

 course in those animals in which it was in the process of incuba- 

 tion, while preventing those infected from spreading the contagion 

 among the others. Two days later another death occurred among 

 the rabbits thus isolated, but this was the last, and since then the 

 disease has completely disappeared. I caused the cage to be 

 carefully washed with a strong solution of carbolic acid. 



Two months ago I received a further consignment of thirty 

 rabbits which I placed in the same cage as that in which the first 

 mentioned rabbits were confined. Up to the present date no 

 deaths have occurred, nor have any signs of the disease manifested 

 themselves. With a view to elucidating if possible the causes of 

 the malady which affected the first consignment of rabbits, Mr. 

 Stanley made enquiries at Narrandera, whence they were obtained, 

 but so far as he was able to ascertain the animals were in a per- 

 fectly healthy condition when despatched, and no disease was 

 known to exist among the rabbits in the district. 



