1884 .] 
AMEEICAK AGEIOULTUEIST, 
21 
Hoose in Calves, Etc. 
BY BROI'. D. D. SLADE, M. D., V. S., HARTAKD UNIVERSITY, 
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 
Mr. J. Hodson, writing from Marslifield, Coos 
Co., Oregon, under date of Oct. 13, 1833, asks the 
opinion of the American Agriculturist in regard to 
the nature and treatment of a disease which has 
attacked the calves upon Coos Kiver, proving very 
fatal upon some farms, notably on that of Mr. N. 
Small, where sixty-three out of sixty-five calves 
were attacked. He says the symptoms are as 
follows ; “ The calf will get up and cough and ap¬ 
pear very tired, will gasp for breath, run its 
tongue out and low and moan in great distress ; 
ing air cells, mature, and in time reproduce their 
kind. In the second case the impregnated female 
being expelled from the air passages by the cough¬ 
ing, falls either upon the ground or into water, 
dies, and the eggs remain for an indefinite period, 
until under favorable circumstances they are taken 
up with the food or water into the body of a suita¬ 
ble host, either as eggs or as minute worms. These 
are then conveyed by the circulation of the blood 
from the stomach and intestines, and are deposited 
in the tissues of the lungs, whence, after a certain 
period, they pierce a passage into the bronchial 
tubes. While occupying the lung tissue, they are 
incased in small masses which appear like chalky 
matter, and v/hich the microscope shows to be de- 
As prevention is better than cure it is highly im¬ 
portant that this parasitical disease should be 
stamped out in newly infested countries, which 
may be done by the separation of the allected ani¬ 
mals, by their continuous medical treatment, and 
by the burning or very deep interment of the bodies 
that die from it. No calves or foals should be pas¬ 
tured on lands which have been occupied by older 
stock of the same kind, nor should they have access 
to the same food or water. Drain the infected lands 
where possible, and make no use of any fodder, 
grain or other produce from such localities, for cat¬ 
tle, horses or mules. Any animals that have been ex¬ 
posed must have a liberal diet, including dry grain, 
roots, etc., plenty of salt, and must be carefully 
THE TRAMPS “IN C L O V E R 20.) 
Drawn (by Alfred Trumble,) and Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
running down in flesh all the time, and dying in 
from ten to fourteen days. Upon post mortem ex¬ 
amination by doctors here, thousands of white 
worms an inch or so in length were found in the 
bronchial tubes and their branches into the lungs.” 
The disease in question is recognized under va¬ 
rious names, as Hoose, Husa, Verminous Bron¬ 
chitis, etc., and is due to the presence of innumera¬ 
ble white worms from one-half inch to three inches 
in length, an animat parasite known by naturalists 
as the Sirongylus micrurus. These particular in¬ 
ternal parasites are long, slender, cylindrical 
in shape, with heads in some of the orders armed 
with hooks or spines. They infest the bodies of 
the sheep, goat, calf, horse, ass, mule, pig, and 
even birds. They inhabit the air passages and 
lungs, as also the digestive organs, and may be re¬ 
produced either within or without the body. In 
the first case the female worm gets access to an air 
cell, where, becoming encysted, it produces eggs ; 
the j^oung worms from there creep into neighbor- 
posits of the eggs and young worms. The pres¬ 
ence of these bodies ereate an irritation, and give 
rise to an inflammation of the lung tissue,resembling 
the disease known as lung fever or pneumonia. 
When the worms are present in the air passages, 
they create constant irritation, and violent eough- 
ing is induced, during which the parasites are often 
expelled in masses with the mucus. The symp¬ 
toms of the disease which first call attention are, 
the slight husky cough at irregular intervals, the 
dry and loose coat, the loss of appetite and want 
of energy, and gradual emaciation. The cough 
soon becomes more troublesome and even at times 
suffocating, with the expectoration of mucus and 
worms. The animal grows weaker, the skin be¬ 
comes hide-bound, various dropsical swellings may 
occur, and great constitutional disturbances arise, 
.terminating fatally in ten to fifteen days. Intes¬ 
tinal parasites may also at the same time co-exist, 
and produce diarrhoea, and grave disturbances of 
the bowels of the infested animal. 
watched for the first symptoms of the disease. To 
destroy the lung parasites, bring the affected ani¬ 
mals together in a close building, and subject them 
to the fumes of the flowers of sulphur thrown in 
small quantity at a time upon a heated shovel or 
iron plate, or by means of any simple apparatus, 
until the chamber is as much charged with the 
fumes as the animals can bear without too severe 
coughing. This should be done for several days in 
succession, and at intervals afterwards as long as 
there is any suspicion of the presence of the para¬ 
sites, and should be kept up for twenty minutes 
to half an hour. Of course the affected ones are 
not to mingle with others, or go into new pastures 
which they might infect. A liberal and nutritious 
diet is necessary, to which may be added vegetable 
and ferruginous tonics, such as powdered gentian, 
sulphate of iron, etc. The intestinal parasites may 
be destroyed by giving the animal infested with 
them a tablespoonful of oil of turpentine in 
gruel or milk in the morning before feeding. 
