HUMAN AND ANIMAL VARIOLAS. 
53 
HUMAN AND ANIMAL VARIOLA; A STUDY IN COM¬ 
PARATIVE PATHOLOGY. 
By George Fleming, F.R.C.V.S., Army Veterinary Inspector. 
(From the Veterinary Journal, London, England.) 
(Continued from Vol. IV., p. 482.) 
VARIOLA IN FERAS NATURAS. 
To wlmt extent will animals in general suffer from variolous 
diseases it is impossible to say, as there is but little evidence, and 
that not of a very reliable kind. But that they are susceptible 
of infection, and are the.victims of their own particular kind 
of variola, there cannot be any valid reason for doubting. We 
have seen that hares and rabbits are believed to have a variola, 
and hunters and others have occasionally reported wild boars, 
chamois, and other feral naturae, as affected with an eruption like 
small-pox. 
The Simiadce , in an untamed state, would appear to be often 
attacked with variola. It has been observed that when small-pox 
has been prevalent in the West Indies, and also in South America, 
wild monkeys have been affected with a variolic eruption ; though 
whether they were infected from mankind, or whether what is 
called the epidemic constitution of the atmosphere (a very doubt¬ 
ful influence) also produced an outbreak of variola among them, 
it would be difficult to decide. 
These creatures certainly seem to be the most susceptible of 
all animals to the reception of human variola. Buffon and Bar¬ 
rier give instances of this susceptibility ; and so long ago as 1767, 
it was known to the denizens of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, 
that a monkey became infected with small-pox through playing 
with diseased children. A similar instance is related by Paulet, 
as occurring at Paris in 1770. The two Danish veterinary pro¬ 
fessors— Abilgaard and Viborg—state that after having unsuc¬ 
cessfully attempted to convey human variola to cows, horses* 
asses, sheep and dogs, they inoculated a monkey with the virus of 
that disea»e. The little creature was attacked with small-pox, the 
