32 THOMPSON YATES AND JOHNSTON LABORATORIES REPORT 
IV. TRYPANOSOMA EQUIPERDUM. DOURINE — MALADIE DE 
COJT 
This disease has been under observation for some time. Two rabbits which had 
been inoculated from a dog were received. One rabbit was killed, and the whole of 
its blood used to inoculate a pup and a rabbit. The pup showed parasites in its 
blood on the eleventh day, and death occurred on the forty-ninth day, many parasites 
were found in its blood and in the peritoneal and pericardial exudates. Since that 
time the strain has been kept running through young puppies and rabbits. 
Eight puppies have been used. The incubation period has been from four-and- 
a-half to eleven days, the average being six-and-three-quarters to seven days. The 
duration of the disease is from twenty-two to sixty-four days, the average period 
being from five to six weeks. At first it is extremely hard to find trypanosomes in 
the blood, but after the third week they quickly increase in numbers, and continue 
to augment so that eight to ten to twenty-five or more to a field are present. Divisional 
forms at first are very few in number, but soon abound in the peripheral blood. 
Profound anaemia occurs coincidently with the increase of parasites. Loss of weight 
is a marked feature. A characteristic feature of this disease is the oedema of the 
posterior limbs ; an oedema around the genital organs, extending along the abdomen, 
is also often very marked, and lasts for a few days or remains till death. In some cases 
the only oedematous areas are about the site of inoculation. Petechial plaques with 
loss of hair over these areas have been noted in two cases. Purulent discharge from 
the eyes and nose very often occurs. There is usually a slight discharge from the 
genital organs. Nervous symptoms have been rarely seen. In only one pup has a 
partial but true paralysis of the posterior extremities been noted. This pup developed 
a halting gait, which steadily became worse, due to an increasing paralysis of the 
right hind leg. The reflexes were lessened, and towards the end almost completely 
absent. The autopsv on this pup revealed nothing special, its cord and brain have 
not been microscopically examined. 
One adult dog developed the disease in thirteen days. For a period of three 
weeks the oedematous condition around the genitals was very marked, the sheath 
being particularly affected. In addition, small unconnected oedematous areas were 
present on the inside of the thighs. These oedematous patches contained fluid, in 
which were very many trypanosomes. The dog lost flesh and became very anaemic, 
but recovered after two-and-a-half months. Four months later it was killed, and a 
pup inoculated from its blood developed the disease. 
