Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/223

Rh VETERINARY SCIENCE 203 cause. The indications for its suppression and extinction are there fore obvious. They are (1) to prevent diseased animals coming into actual contact, especially per coitum, with healthy ones, (2) to destroy the infected, and (3), as an additional precautionary measure, to thoroughly cleanse and disinfect the stables, clothing, utensils, and implements used for the sick horse. nflu- Under influenza several diseases are sometimes included, and in nza. different invasions it may (and doubtless does) assume varying forms. It may be said to be a specific fever of a low or asthenic type, associated with inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the air-passages, and also sometimes with that of other organs. At various times it has prevailed extensively over different parts of the world, more especially during the 18th and 19th centuries. Per haps one of the most wide-spread outbreaks recorded was that of 1872, on the American continent. It usually radiates from the district in which it first appears. The symptoms have been enu merated as follows : sudden attack, marked by extreme debility and stupor, with increased body-temperature, quick weak pulse, rigors, and cold extremities. The head is pendent, the eyelids swollen and half closed, eyes lustreless, and tears often flowing down the face. There is great disinclination to move ; the body sways on the animal attempting to walk ; and the limb-joints crack. The appetite is lost and the mouth is hot and dry ; the bowels are constipated and the urine scanty and high-coloured ; there is nearly always a deep, painful, and harassing cough ; on auscultation of the chest crepitation or harsh blowing sounds are audible ; and the membrane lining the eyelids and nose assumes either a bright pink colour or a dull leaden hue. A white, yellowish, or greenish- coloured discharge flows from the nostrils. In a few days the fever and other symptoms subside, and convalescence rapidly sets in. In unfavourable cases the fever increases, as well as the prostration, the breathing becomes laboured, the cough more painful and deep, and auscultation and percussion indicate that the lungs are seriously involved, with perhaps the pleura or the heart. Clots sometimes form in the latter organ, and quickly bring about a fatal termina tion. When the lungs do not suffer, the bowels may, and with this complication there are, in addition to the stupor and torpor, tension and tenderness of the abdominal walls when pressed upon, mani festations of colic, great thirst, a coated tongue, yellowness of the membranes of nose and eyes, high-coloured urine, constipation, and dry fseces covered with mucus. Sometimes rheumatic swelling and tenderness take place in the muscles and joints of the limbs, which may persist for a long time, often shifting from leg to leg, and involving the sheaths of tendons. At other times acute inflam mation of the eyes supervenes, or even paralysis. In this disease good nursing is the chief factor in the treatment. Comfortable, clean, and airy stables or loose-boxes should be pro vided, and the warmth of the body and limbs maintained. Cold and damp, foul air and uncleanliness, are as inimical to health and as antagonistic to recovery as in the case of mankind. In influenza it has been generally found that the less medicine the sick animal receives the more likely it is to recover. Nevertheless it may be necessary to adopt such medical measures as the following. For constipation administer enemata of warm water or give a dose of linseed oil or aloes. For fever give mild febrifuge diuretics (as liquor of acetate of ammonia or spirit of nitrous ether), and, if there is cough or nervous excitement, anodynes (such as extract of bella donna). When the fever subsides and the prostration is great, it may be necessary to give stimulants (carbonate of ammonia, nitrous ether, aromatic ammonia) and tonics, both vegetable (gentian, quassia, calumba) and mineral (iron, copper, arsenic). Some veter inary surgeons administer large and frequent doses of quinine from the onset of the disease, and, it is asserted, with excellent effect. If the abdominal organs are chiefly involved, demulcents may supplement the above (linseed boiled to a jelly, to which salt is added, is the most convenient and best), and drugs to allay pain (as opium and hydrocyanic acid). Olive oil is a safe laxative in such cases. When nervous symptoms are manifested, it may be necessary to apply wet cloths and vinegar to the head and neck ; even blisters to the neck have been recommended. Bromide of potassium has been beneficially employed. To combat inflammation of the throat, chest, or abdomen, counter-irritants may be resorted to, such as mustard, soap liniment, or the ordinary white liniment composed of equal parts of oil of turpentine, liquor ammonise, and olive oil. The food should be soft mashes and gruel of oatmeal, with carrots and green food, and small and frequent quantities of scalded oats in addition when convalescence is established. &quot;yphoid, Typhoid, gastric, or bilious fever is often confounded with in- &amp;gt;r also appears independently in horses when shedding their coat lilious in the autumn, in those kept in a hot, close, and impure atmo- ever. sphere, and in those fed insufficiently or on badly-preserved, musty, or otherwise improper food, or supplied with water con taining an excess of decomposing organic matter. Overwork or hardship predisposes to an attack. This fever seems to become con tagious under certain conditions, especially in badly-ventilated in salubrious stables. Wholesome and well-aired stables are not indeed always exempt ; but in them the disease is less serious and does not spread so rapidly. It is presumed that this fever is caused by some virulent principle. As &quot;premonitory&quot; indications of the malady, the horse appears dull and listless, and careless of food. Then signs of fever appear, in the form of staring coat, shivering, alternate heat and coldness of the surface, restlessness, a hot dry mouth, and elevation of the internal temperature of the body. The visible mucous membranes have a yellow tinge ; constipation is present, and with it indications of colicky pain ; the abdomen is distended, tense, and sensitive on pressure ; faeces are passed in the shape of a few hard, dark -coloured pellets covered with mucus; the urine is scanty, red in colour, and after standing a short time deposits a heavy sediment. Sometimes there is sore throat, with increased respiration and a nasal discharge. In mild attacks convalescence may occur in from a week to ten days. In serious cases the pulse is small, feeble, and quick ; the mouth is very hot and dry, and exhibits yellow, brown, or greenish patches ; the abdomen is more tender and the bowels very irritable, diarrhoea of a fetid character often ensuing. Prostration to an extreme degree is a very marked feature in these cases. The head is maintained in a pendent posi tion ; the eyes become sunken ; the expression is haggard and list less ; while the stupor may be so advanced that pinching or pricking the skin will elicit no indication of sensibility. A fatal termination usually occurs in from ten to twenty days. The diet must be carefully attended to, and should be soft and easily digested, such as mashes of bran, sliced carrots or turnips, boiled oats or barley, freshly cut grass, and oatmeal gruel. The stable should be kept clean and sweet, fresh air being an important factor in treatment ; the body of the patient must also be made comfortable by clothing. Quiet is necessary. Quinine has been found useful in large and repeated doses ; and calomel has been recommended. A daily dose of Glauber s salt may be given if there is constipation ; and, if this is obstinate, enemata of warm water should be administered in addition. A drachm each of chlorate or nitrate of potash and muriate of ammonia may be given three or four times daily with the water drunk ; or in cases of great prostra tion an ounce of oil of turpentine, sulphuric ether, sweet spirits of nitre, or carbonate of ammonia may be given as well. If there is much tenderness of the abdomen, hot fomentations continued for a long time, or mustard poultices, or the application of extract of mustard should be resorted to. When convalescence sets in, three or four ounces of tincture of gentian or cinchona may be given twice daily, with muriate of iron and stimulants. Strangles is a specific contagious and infectious fever peculiar to Strangles, ungulates, and is more especially incidental to young animals. It is particularly characterized by the formation of abscesses in the lymphatic glands, chiefly those between the branches of the lower jaw (subrnaxillary). Various causes are ascribed for its production, such as change of young horses from field to stable, from grass to dry feeding, from idleness to hard work, irritation of teething, and change of locality and climate. It is asserted that repeated attacks will occur in the same horse under the influence of the last-named cause. But the chief, if not the sole, cause is infection, the malady, in some of its features, closely resembling the &quot;mumps&quot; of the human species. Languor and feverishness, diminution of appetite, cough, redness of the nasal membrane, with discharge from the ey.es and nose, and thirst are among the earliest symptoms. Then there is difficulty in swallowing, coincident with the development of swelling between the branches of the lower jaw r, which often causes the water in drinking to be returned through the nose and the masticated food to be dropped from the mouth. The swelling is hot and tender, diffused, and uniformly rounded and smooth ; at first it is hard, with soft, doughy margins ; but later it becomes soft in the centre, where an abscess is forming, and soon &quot; points &quot; and bursts, giving exit to a quantity of pus. Relief is now experi enced by the animal ; the symptoms subside ; and recovery takes place. In some cases the swelling is so great or occurs so close to the larynx that the breathing is interfered with, and even rendered so difficult that suffocation is threatened. In other cases the disease assumes an irregular form, and the swelling, instead of softening in the centre, remains hard for an indefinite time, or it may subside and abscesses form in various parts of the body, sometimes in vital organs, as the brains, lungs, liver, kidneys, &c., or in the bronchial or mesenteric glands, where they generally produce serious conse quences. Not unfrequently a pustular eruption accompanies the other symptoms. The malady may terminate in ton days or be protracted for months, often terminating fatally, especially when the animal is not well nursed and is kept in an unhealthy stable. Good nursing is the chief part of the treatment. The strength should be maintained by soft nutritious food, and the body kept warm and comfortable ; the stable or loose-box must have plenty of fresh air and be kept clean. The swelling may be fomented with warm water and poulticed. The poultice may be a little bag con taining bran and linseed meal mixed with hot water, and applied warm to the tumefaction, being retained there by a square piece of calico, with holes for the ears and eyes, tied down the middle of the face and behind the ears. If the breathing is disturbed and
 * astric, fluenza, and sometimes occurs at the same time in a locality. It