HOG cholera: prevention and treatment. 



9' 



Fig. 4. — A herd affected with acute cholera in which practically every hog is sick. 



APPEARANCE OF A HOG AFTER DEATH FROM CHOLERA. 



Examination of carcasses of hogs that die will assist in determin- 

 ing whether they have died of cholera. In making an examination 

 after death the skin should first be examined for purple blotches 

 resembling a birth mark. Then the carcass should be placed on its 

 back and opened in the same manner as when butchering for mar- 

 ket, care being taken to avoid cutting the internal organs. 



Lungs. — In acute cholera the surfaces of the lungs frequently show 

 small red spots varying in size from a pinhead to a small pea. These 

 spots can not be washed off, and when found are an important indi- 

 cation of cholera. It is not unusual, instead of finding the lungs 

 soft, filled with air, and pinkish in color, as is the case in a normal 

 condition, to find them solid and of a grayish or dark-red color, 

 which results from a form of pneumonia. This condition, however, 

 is not so characteristic of hog cholera as the reddish spots mentioned. 



Heart. — When removed from the membranous sac surrounding it, 

 the heart may show blotches or blood spots such as those on the 

 lungs. These, however, are seen only in rare cases in the acute or 

 severe form of hog cholera. 



Liver. — The liver generally shows changes, but it varies in ap- 

 pearance even under normal conditions, and, therefore, does not 

 show changes that can be regarded as characteristic of cholera. 



Spleen or melt. — In acute cases of hog cholera the spleen or melt 

 is invariably large, dark, and soft. In chronic cases, however, it 

 may be smaller than normal and grayish in color. 



Kidneys. — The kidneys when removed are found surrounded by 

 a thin, fibrous tissue. This should be peeled off carefully to avoid 

 i>S02S°— Bull. 834—17 2 



