548 
Louping-Ill in Sheep. 
time of my visit to Northumberland was much less prevalent than 
it usually is in the month of May, but during the ten days’ stay I 
had the opportunity of submitting fifteen cases to post-mortem 
examination. 
Record of Cases Submitted to Post-mortem Examination. 
Case 1. — A lamb about three weeks old, said to have been ill for 3 or 
4 days. Complete motor paralysis of the bind legs and quarters. Sensation 
in the paralysed parts not appreciably impaired. Eye bright and intelli- 
gent. Lamb sucks ravenously when held up to the dam. It was killed by 
bleeding. 
Post-mortem } — A number of ticks were adherent to the skin, and at the 
point of attachment of some a small abscess bad formed. A cover-glass 
preparation of this pus (subsequently stained and examined) showed 
numerous bacilli, apparently in pure culture. The spleen was much 
enlarged and somewhat softer in consistence than normal. The liver con- 
tained an abscess as large as a hazel nut and surrounded by a zone of 
necrotic liver tissue. It also contained two other areas of necrosis with- 
out distinct suppuration. A small abscess was present between the longus 
colli muscle and the spine at the level of the third and fourth dorsal ver- 
tebrse. The suppuration involved the bodies of these bones and extended 
through them to the spinal canal, which at this point contained a quantity 
of pus around the dura mater (the outermost membrane covering the spinal 
cord). The dura mater was here slightly adherent to the bodies of the 
third and fourth dorsal vertebrae. The pus of this spinal abscess when 
examined microscopically showed bacilli resembling those found in the tick 
abscess. Attempts to obtain a cultivation of this bacillus failed. 
Case II. — The carcass of a lamb about three weeks old, found dead that 
morning, had been seen alive the previous evening. It had been unable to 
stand for some days owing to paralysis, which, according to the shepherd’s 
report, affected the fore limbs mainly. 
Post-mortem . — Many ticks were present on the skin, and in some cases a 
small abscess with thick pus had formed around the point where the tick 
was adherent. The liver contained one pea-sized abscess. The dura mater 
at the middle of the neck was inflamed and slightly adherent to the floor 
of the spinal canal. The body of the underlying vertebra was found to con- 
tain pus, which, on microscopic examination, showed numbers of micrococci 
in pairs and in groups. Tubes of gelatine and agar inoculated from this pus 
yielded cultures of a micrococcus whose characters will be described later. 
Case III. — A ewe, said to have “ lost the power of her back,” and gone 
down about 14 days previous. She lay flat on her side with the fore-legs 
extended and stiff ; the hind legs were less rigid; skin sensitive everywhere. 
When the ewe was set up on her haunches she could support herself with 
the fore-legs. No convulsive fits had been observed at any time. She was 
killed by bleeding. 
Post-mortem . — No ticks were detected on the skin. The liver was 
1 In order to avoid unnecessary repetition only the lesions or abnormal 
conditions discovered at the post-mortem are recorded, but in every case 
except those specially mentioned, the muscular system, the brain, the spinal 
cord, and the principal organs of the abdomen and chest were examined. 
In all the lambs special attention was paid to the navel and the umbilical 
vessels. 
