1905.] 



Swine Erysipelas. 



429 



a very mild form for a time, then burst out acutely. In Great 

 Britain the acute forms have been observed particularly in the 

 warm months. 



Post-mortem. — The membranes of the stomach and intestines 

 show red patches and are often swollen. The intestinal glands 

 on the membrane are red and enlarged ; sometimes the surface 

 over these glands is abraded, but the distinct ulcer of swine fever 

 is never seen. The lymphatic glands throughout the body are 

 swollen and red. The spleen is often enlarged. 



The membraneous coverings of the lungs and heart show 

 red spots, and sometimes fluid is present in the chest and 

 heart sack. The lungs are congested. 



In the chronic form one often finds that the tissues around the 

 opening between the chambers of the heart, particularly on 

 the left side, are thickened and rough ; that is to say, endo- 

 carditis is present. 



Prevention. — This is a disease against which several methods 

 of protective inoculation have been directed. As far back as 

 1882, Pasteur and Thuillier prepared an attenuated virus by 

 passing the microbe in series through rabbits. Two vaccines of 

 different strengths were employed with an interval of twelve days. 

 The inoculations are made under the skin inside the thighs at 

 the dose of one-eighth c.c. The immunity takes about a month 

 to establish itself, which is, of course, a serious objection to the 

 method. It is advised that the operations should be as far as 

 possible performed on pigs under four months, as they present 

 more resistance. The immunity is said to last about a year. 

 This is sufficient for feeding purposes, but it means that the 

 inoculation requires to be performed annually on animals kept 

 for breeding. The method has many serious disadvantages. 

 It may give rise to fatalities. The statistics from Hungary, 

 collected on about 4,000,000 observations, put these at r68 

 per cent., against a calculated death-rate of 20 per cent, in the 

 non-vaccinated. 



In France, however, the results have not been so happy. In 

 certain cases a loss of 10 per cent, has been recorded, in 

 addition to such sequelae as arthritis, (inflammation of the 

 joints), and emaciation. The high percentage of losses is said 

 to take place only in districts where the disease is established, 



