no<; cholera: pkeykxtiox and treatment. 



13 



other animals on the farm; cattle, sheep, and horses being more 

 susceptible than hogs. 



NecrobacUlosis. — This disease may appear in various forms. One 

 is a condition commonly called "sniffles" or "bull nose." Another 

 and most important form is called necrotic enteritis. The latter is 

 characterized by a severe inflammation of the intestines, and at times 

 may be mistaken for cholera. Often there is a lack of appetite, 

 and while diarrhea is not constant it frequently is seen in the 

 early stage of this disease. The pigs become unthrifty, emaciated, 

 and weak. The lesions of the disease are found most commonly in 

 the inner lining of the large intestines, but in advanced cases the 

 lining of the small intestines also is involved. Small, white, well- 

 defined areas may he seen through the outer covering of the large 

 intestines. On splitting open the intestine, the inner lining is found 

 thickened, with white, dead patches read}' to slough off, but they are 

 not raised above the surface and do not form the buttonlike ulcers 

 as in chronic cholera. These patches consist of a rather soft cheesy 

 substance. In advanced cases the whole inner lining of the intestine 

 can be scraped away with the thumb nail. Under these conditions the 

 animal rapidly wastes away and dies from lack of nutrition. The 

 absence of red spots on the belly, the lack of fever, the slow develop- 

 ment of the disease in the herd, and the fact that it is confined prin- 

 cipally to pigs and shoats, all serve to distinguish this disease from 

 cholera. 



Worms. — Growing pigs often suffer from attacks of worms, both 

 in the lungs and in the intestines, but old hogs rarely show the 

 effect of such infestation. The most important symptom produced 

 by worms is general unthriftiness. 



The worms that infest the lungs are very small, one-half to 1 inch 

 in length, and they bring about an inflammation of the air passages 

 which causes frequent coughing. They can be recognized hv a 

 careful examination of the frothy discharge from the mouth of 

 sick pigs or of the lungs after death. In this disease there is an 

 entire absence of symptoms of acute illness, such as usually accom- 

 panies an attack of hog cholera. 



"Worms infesting the intestines vary in size, some attaining a 

 length of 10 inches. These parasites impair the general health 

 of the pigs and by causing irritation of the alimentary tract may 

 cause diarrhea. While several pigs and shoats in a herd may be- 

 come affected with worms and act in somewhat the same way as 

 those attacked by hog cholera, the facts that there is no fever and 

 that the ailment does not affect grown hogs make this trouble easily 

 distinguishable from hog cholera. 



