March, 1910.] 



231 



Live Stock. 



was eventually stamped out. In this 

 outbreak England lost about 233,000 

 head of cattle. Further outbreaks oc- 

 cured in England in 1872 and 1877, 

 which were speedily suppressed by 

 slaughter of diseased and incontact 

 cattle, and by rigorous disinfection. 



In 1841 and 1865 Rinderpest was intro- 

 duced into Egypt where it appears to 

 to have died out until 1889, when it was 

 introduced into Africa. 



Capt. Lugard describes it as " Seeming 

 to have started on the East Coast, 

 opposite Aden, and to have spread in- 

 land, It began in the spring of 1889 

 but did not reach Ukamba and Masai- 

 land before the summer of 1890. It then 

 spread through both these countries, 

 Kavirondo, Uganda, Ankole and Unyoro, 

 and by September, 1891, had reached the 

 centre of Africa. From here it spread 

 South to Nyasaland causing enormous 

 losses among cattle and game. Nearly 

 all the buffalo and eland are gone. The 

 giraffe has suffered and many of the 

 small antelopes. The pigs seem to have 

 nearly all died." 



In March, 1896, Rinderpest reached 

 Bulawayo, and by the end of 1897 had 

 spread over nearly the whole of South 

 Africa. The stamping out method by 

 slaughter was tried for some time, but 

 was abandoned in favour of bile or 

 serum inoculation. 



Animals Sxisceptible. — Although bo- 

 vine animals are by far the most suscep- 

 tible, infection extends to all ruminants, 

 camels and swine. The horse, dog, rab- 

 bit, bird and man are immune. 



Cause. — The micro-organism which 

 produces Rinderpest is one of the invisi- 

 ble viruses, as it is so small that it 

 cannot be demonstrated by the mici'os- 

 cope. The virus of Rinderpest is among 

 the larger of the invisible viruses, since 

 it will only pass through a Berken- 

 field filter which has an exceptionally 

 thin wall. The ordinary Berkenfield and 

 the closer textured Cumberland filter 

 are of too close a texture to allow of 

 the passage of the virus. 



Susceptibility has a large influence 

 on the cause of an outbreak of Rinder- 

 pest. Cattle are highly susceptible ; yet 

 in the Steppes of Russia, where the 

 disease has for centuries had a perma- 

 nent home, the native cattle mostly 

 recover from an attack of the plague, 

 while newly introduced cattle nearly 

 invariably die. In a country where 

 Rinderpest has been introduced, and no 

 attempt been made to combat it, the 

 susceptibility of the survivors of the 

 outbreak and their progeny gradually 

 decreases, until in course of time it 



becomes very slight ; but to acquire this 

 degree of insusceptibility Rinderpest 

 must have been constantly present in 

 the country. Sheep and goats are 

 slightly susceptible. Immunity follows 

 a first attack. 



Modes of Infection.— Infection occurs 

 in various ways. All the secretions and 

 excretions of a diseased animal are in- 

 fective, and Rinderpest is contracted 

 not only by the direct contact of a 

 healthy with a diseased, but by healthy 

 cattle feeding in infected grass or being 

 put in infected bomas. 



The virus is carried in manure, hay, 

 cattle trucks, meat, skins, and in fact 

 by anything which has been in contact 

 with a diseased animal. Wild game are 

 instrumental in the rapid spread in un- 

 settled countries. 



Complete dessication destroys the in- 

 fection ; exposure of Rinderpest hides 

 to strong antiseptics such as carbolic 

 acid, Chloride of lime, Perchloride of 

 mercury and sunlight for seven days 

 renders them harmless. In manure, 

 litter, stalls, mangers, etc-, in a still and 

 sunless atmosphere the virus retains its 

 vitality for as long as three months. 



Incubation. — In an animal infected 

 with virulent Rinderpest blood the first 

 rise of temperature appears about the 

 third or fourth day. In animals which 

 contract the disease by natural means 

 the period of incubation is generally 

 slightly longer. It largely depends on 

 the strength and quantity of the virus 

 and the susceptibility of the animal. 



Symptoms. — The first symptom is a 

 sudden rise of temperature which gener- 

 ally reaches a height of 104° to 108° on the 

 third or fourth day. 



At this stage there are no visible signs 

 of sickness, but by the fifth day there is 

 a dry staring coat, dullness, slight loss 

 of appetite, tremors and twitching of 

 the muscles behind the shoulders. Fol- 

 lowing these symptoms are drooping of 

 the ears, dryness of the muzzle, a general 

 redness of the mucous lining of the 

 mouth, vagina, rectum and eyes. There 

 is a discharge from the eyes which at 

 first is slight and watery, becoming 

 thicker and more profuse as the disease 

 advances. The bowels are constipated 

 at first and the faces are covered with 

 slimy mucous. There is slight dribbling 

 of saliva from the mouth and discharge 

 from the nostrils. 



As the disease advances these symp- 

 toms become more severe, appetite is 

 lessened and rumination ceases, the 

 animal stands with head and ears droop- 

 ing, the coat is rough and staring, the 



