C 17 ] 
Note on Hydrophobia in Selangor, 1903 and 1904. 
In a report by Dr. W. L. Braddon, State Surgeon, Negri Sembilan, 
on “ Rabies of an Indefinite Character amongst Dogs," tebruary 24th, 1902, 
an account is given of a small outbreak of this disease, and he concludes 
that: “ (1) Dogs may have true rabies and yet exhibit no signs of illness 
by which the malady can be certainly diagnosed.” 
During the years 1903 and 1904, a considerable number of dogs, some 
alive and some dead, have been sent to the Institute to determine whether 
or not they had rabies. 
The living animals were kept in a large cage and watched carefully. 
From the dead animals intradural injections of cerebral-spinal matter from 
the medulla were made into rabbits and, where possible, a history of the 
dogs was obtained. 
The result of the observations is to confirm Dr. Braddon’s result that 
the type of rabies in this country is atypical. Occasionally a typical case 
occurs. . 
In all twenty dogs were investigated at the Institute. Fight dogs 
were sent alive to the Institute but 3 of these were not cases of rabies, and 
after being kept for one or more weeks were returned to the owner. 
In addition to the 5 cases under observation at the Institute one other 
was under observation outside. Twelve dogs were sent in dead suspected 
of having rabies ; 6 of these had been killed and 6 had died naturally. Many 
of these bodies were more or less decomposed, and as a result of this 
decomposition in 3 cases rabbits injected from them died within 48 hours 
of septicaemia, thus vitiating the experiment so that no certainty was 
possible. 
In 4 other cases the rabbits showed no symptoms and recovered 
completely, so that rabies could be excluded. In one case no rabbits were 
available. 
Excluding these there were 9 cases of rabies as proved by post-mortem 
examinations and intradural injection of medullary substance from the dog. 
Of these cases 2 occurred in July, and in the same month, but rather 
later, 2 cases occurred, one of the violent type of rabies and one of the 
paralytic form, in dogs outside and were certified as rabies by the Veterinary 
Surgeon who had seen them. 
’The next cases were in September, 1904, on the 15th and 21st 
respectively, and there were 3 cases in October, and one each in November 
and December and in January, 1905. 
The other dogs who either recovered or in which no symptoms of 
rabies developed in injected rabbits were sent up both during the period 
when the cases of rabies occurred and in the intervening period. 
In the case described by Dr. Braddon, a dog at large snapped at and 
bit a child, several dogs, and some goats. The dog had a few days 
previously been bitten by a snake, and it had been noticed that it had little 
appetite but had shown none of the mental change, alteration of disposition 
and demeanour usually described. On the following day the dog, though 
rather dull in demeanour and poor in condition, was perfectly tractable and 
obedient. It could be handled and showed no signs of irritability. There 
