i9o6.] 



A Disease of Young Cattle. 



167 



For some years past the farmers of the county of Wexford 

 and other districts of Ireland have lost numbers of young stock 

 from an unrecognized disease, which is 



in Ireland. diarrhoea, extreme weakness, and prostra- 



The disease is being investigated on behalf of the Irish De- 

 partment of Agriculture by Professor A. E. Mettam, Principal 

 of the Royal Veterinary College of Ireland, and a preliminary 

 report on the subject is given in the Journal of the Irish Depart- 

 ment for April, 1906, to which those interested in the subject 

 from a veterinary point of view should refer. 



The predominating symptoms are progressive wasting and 

 anaemia, with intermittent diarrhoea which defies the ordinary 

 remedies. The f?eces may be exceedingly watery for several 

 days or weeks at a time, and ejected with great force and strain- 

 ing, and then for a time the dung becomes normal in appear- 

 ance ; there may even be costiveness for a period, to be followed, 

 however, by another attack of diarrhoea. Occasionally the dung 

 is blood-stained, either red in colour or black, owing to changes 

 in the blood-colouring matter present. Sometimes the odour of 

 the discharges from the bowel is very offensive. The urine is 

 normal in appearance ; occasionally it contains albumen. 



The appetite is very capricious ; in some cases the animals 

 will eat fairly well, even when exhaustion has progressed to such 

 an extent that they are unable to stand, while in other cases the 

 calves absolutely refuse to take any food for quite a week 

 previous to death. Death is usually preceded by great debility 

 and prostration, the patient lying stretched out for the last 

 twenty-four hours or so of life. 



The investigations, so far as they have gone at present, have 

 not led to any conclusive result, but it is recommended that the 

 animals be housed for a longer time than has been the custom 

 hitherto, that plenty of good dry food be given, and that a clean 

 and dry bed be provided. 



The Board would be interested to know of the occurrence of 

 any cases of this disease in Great Britain. 



A Disease of 

 Youngr Cattle 



manifested by wasting, chronic persistent 



tion, eventually terminating in death. 



