fevers the feed has to be diminished in quantity and regulated in the
quality of its heat-producing components during the acute part of the
disease, so as to lessen the material for combustion in the inflamed
organs. In edematous pneumonia, on the contrary, all the feed that can
possibly be digested and assimilated must be given. Choice must be made
of the richest material which can be handled by the weakened stomach and
intestines without fatiguing them. Good, sound hay should be chopped
short and dampened or partly boiled; in the latter case the hay tea can
be reserved to use as a drink. Oats may be preferred dry or in other
cases are taken better scalded; in most cases, however, it is better to
give slops of oatmeal, to which may be added a little bran, barley
flour, or boiled milk and wheat flour. Pure cow's milk, not too rich in
fatty matter, may be given alone or with beaten eggs; frequently the
horse has to be coaxed with the milk diluted with several parts of water
at first, but will soon learn to drink the pure milk. Apples and carrots
cut up raw or boiled are useful, and fresh clover in small quantities
will frequently stimulate the appetite. In other words, various feeds
and combinations should be given to the horse. Throughout the course of
the disease and during convalescence the greatest attention must be
taken to cleaning the coat thoroughly so as to keep the glands of the
skin in working order, and light, warm covering must be used to protect
the animal from cold or drafts of air.
STRANGLES.
_Synonyms._--Distemper; colt-ill; catarrhal fever; one form of
shipping fever; febris pyogenica.
_Definition._--Strangles is an infectious disease of the horse, mule,
and ass, seen most frequently in young animals, and usually leaving them
immune from future trouble of the same kind.
It appears as a fever lasting for a few days, and is usually associated
with an abscess formation of lymph glands, especially those under the
jaw, which have a tendency to break on the outside. It usually leaves
the animal after convalescence perfectly healthy and as good as it was
before, but sometimes leaves it a roarer or is followed by the
development of deep-seated abscesses which may prove fatal.
_Causes._--The cause of strangles is infection by direct contact with an
animal suffering from the disease, or indirectly through contact with
the discharges from an infected animal, or by means of the atmosphere in
which an infected animal has been. There are many predisposing causes
which render some animals much more subject to contract the disease than
others. Early age, which has given it the popular name of colt-ill,
offers many more subjects than the later periods of life do, for the
animal can contract the disease but once, and the large majority of
adult and old animals have derived an immunity from previous attacks. At
3, 4, or 5 years of age the colt, which has been at home, safe on a
meadow or in a cozy barnyard, far from all intercourse with other
animals or sources of contagion, is first put to work and driven to the
market town or county fairs to be exposed to an atmosphere or to stables
contaminated by other horses suffering from disease and serving as
infecting agents. If it fails to contract it there, it is sold and
shipped in foul, undisinfected railway cars to dealers' stables, equally
unclean, where it meets many opportunities of infection. If it escapes
so far, it reaches the time for heavier work and daily contact on the
streets of towns or large cities, with numerous other horses and mules,
some of which are sure to be the bearers of the germs of this or some
other infectious disease, and at last it succumbs.
The period of the eruption of the last permanent teeth, or the end of
the period of development from the colt to an adult horse, at which time
the animals usually have a tendency to fatten and be excessively
full-blooded, also seems to be a predisposing period for the contraction
of this as well as of the other infectious diseases. Thoroughbred colts
are very susceptible, and frequently contract strangles at a somewhat
earlier age than those of more humble origin. Mules and asses are much
less susceptible and are but rarely affected. Other animals are not
subject to this disease, but there is a certain analogy between it and
distemper in dogs. After exposure to infection there is a period of
incubation of the disease, lasting from two to four days, during which
the animal enjoys its ordinary health.
_Symptoms._--The horse at first is a little sluggish if used, or when
placed in its stable is somewhat dejected, paying but moderate attention
to the various disturbing surroundings. Its appetite is somewhat
diminished in many cases, while in some cases the animal eats well
throughout. Thirst is increased, but not a great deal of water is taken
at one time. If a bucket of water is placed in the manger the patient
will dip its nose into it and swallow a few mouthfuls, allowing some of
it to drip back and then stop, to return to it in a short time. The coat
becomes dry and the hairs stand on end. At times the horse will have
chills of one or the other leg, the fore quarters, or hind quarters, or
in severe cases of the whole body, with trembling of the muscles and
dryness of the skin.
If the eyes and mouth are examined the membranes are found reddened to a
bright rosy color. The pulse is quickened and the breathing may be
slightly accelerated. At the end of two days a cough is heard and a
discharge begins to come from the nostrils. This discharge is at first
watery; it then becomes thicker, somewhat bluish in color, and sticky,
and finally it assumes the yellowish color of matter and increases
greatly in quantity.
At the outset the colt may sneeze occasionally and a cough is heard. The
cough is at first repeated and harsh, but soon becomes softer and moist
as the discharge increases. Again, the cough varies according to the
source of the discharge, for in light cases this may be only a catarrh
of the nasal canals, or it may be from the throat, the windpipe, or the
air tubes of the lungs, or even from the lungs themselves. According to
the organ affected the symptoms and character of cough are similar to
those of a laryngitis, bronchitis, or lung fever caused by ordinary
cold.
Shortly after the discharge is seen a swelling takes place under the
jaw, or in the intermaxillary space. This is at first puffy, somewhat
hot and tender, and finally becomes distinctly so, and an abscess is
felt, or having broken itself the discharge is seen dripping from a
small opening. When the discharge from the nostrils has fully developed
the fever usually disappears and the animal regains its appetite, unless
the swelling is sufficient to interfere with the function of the throat,
causing pain on any attempt to swallow. At the end of four or six days
the discharge lessens, the soreness around the throat diminishes, the
horse regains its appetite, and in two weeks has regained its usual
condition. Old and strong horses may have the disease in so light a form
that the fever is not noticeable; they may continue to eat and perform
their ordinary work as usual and no symptom may be seen beyond a slight
discharge from the nose and a rare cough, which is not sufficient to
worry any but the most particular owner. But, on the other hand, the
disease may assume a malignant form or become complicated so as to
become a most serious disease, and even prove fatal in many cases.
Inflammation of the larynx and bronchi, if excessive, produce violent,
harsh coughing, which may almost asphyxiate the animal. The large amount
of discharge may be mixed with air by the difficult breathing, and the
nostrils, the front of the animal, manger, and surrounding objects
become covered with a white foam. The inflammation may be in the lung
itself (lobular pneumonia) and cause the animal to breathe heavily,
heave at the flanks, and show great distress. In this condition marked
symptoms of fever are seen, the appetite is lost, the coat is dry, the
horse stands back in its stall at the end of the halter strap with its
neck extended and its legs propped apart to favor breathing. This
condition may end by resolution, leaving the horse for some time with a
severe cough, or the animal may die from choking up of the lungs
(asphyxia).
The swelling under the jaw may be excessive, and if the abscess is not
opened it burrows toward the throat or to the side and causes
inflammation of the parotid glands and breaks in annoying fistulas at
the sides of the throat and even up as high as the ears. Roaring may
occur either during a moderately severe attack from inflammation of the
throat (larynx), or at a later period as the result of continued lung
trouble. Abscesses may develop in other parts of the body, in the poll,
in the withers, or in the spaces of loose tissue under the arms, in the
fold of the thigh, and, in entire horses, in the testicles.
During the course of the disease, or later, when the animal seems to be
on the road to perfect recovery, abscesses may form in the internal
organs and produce symptoms characteristic of disease of those parts.
Roaring, plunging, wandering in a circle, or standing with the head
wedged in a corner of the stall indicate the collection of matter in the
brain. Sudden and severe lung symptoms, without previous discharge,
point to an abscess between the lungs, in the mediastinum; colic, which
is often continuous for days, is the result of the formation of an
abscess in some part of the abdominal cavity, usually in the mesentery.
_Pathology._--The lesions of strangles are found on the surface of the
mucous membranes, essentially of the respiratory system, and in the
loose connective tissue fibers of the internal organs and glands, and
consist of acute inflammatory changes, tending to the formation of
matter. The blood is unaltered, though it is rich in fibrin, and if the
animal has died of asphyxia it is found dark colored and uncoagulated
when the body is first opened. If the animal has died while suffering
from high fever the ordinary alterations throughout the body, which are
produced by any fever not attended by alteration of blood, are found.
_Prevention._--Healthy horses should be separated from the infected
animals, and the stables in which the disease has occurred should be
thoroughly disinfected. Since the disease frequently occurs annually on
infected premises, systematic disinfection should be practiced after an
outbreak. The stables, as well as all utensils which might have come in
contact with the infection, should be thoroughly disinfected. By such
practices recurrences of the disease may be prevented.
_Treatment._--Ordinary light cases require but little treatment beyond
diet, warm washes, moistened hay, warm coverings, and protection from
exposure to cold. The latter is urgently called for, as lung
complications, severe bronchitis, and laryngitis are often the results
of neglect of this precaution. If the fever is excessive, the horse may
receive small quantities of Glauber's salt (handful three times a day)
as a laxative, bicarbonate of soda or niter in one-dram doses every few
hours, and small doses of antimony, iodid of potash, aconite, or quinin.
Steaming the head with the vapor of warm water poured over a bucket of
bran and hay, in which belladonna leaves or tar have been placed, will
allay the inflammation of the mucous membranes and greatly ease the
cough.
The swelling of the glands should be promptly treated by flaxseed
poultices and bathing with warm water, and as soon as there is any
evidence of the formation of matter it should be opened. Prompt action
in this will often save serious complications. Blisters and irritating
liniments should _not_ be applied to the throat. When lung complications
show themselves the horse should have mustard applied to the belly and
to the sides of the chest. When convalescence begins great care must be
taken not to expose the animal to cold, which may bring on relapses, and
while exercise is of great advantage it must not be turned into work
until the animal has entirely regained its strength.
Bacterial vaccines are now being extensively used for the prevention and
treatment of this disease. They are prepared from the specific germ of
the disease and frequently exert a very beneficial influence. A serum is
also being prepared from horses, which is injected with gradually
increasing doses of this germ. This serum possesses considerable
curative value and may prove especially valuable in cases in which the
animals have failed to respond to other forms of treatment, or when
valuable animals are affected with the disease.
PURPURA HEMORRHAGICA.
_Synonyms._--Anasarca; petechial fever; morbus maculosus.
_Definition._--This disease is a septic bacterial intoxication, acute
and infectious in character, and is manifested by edematous swellings of
the subcutaneous connective tissue, and hemorrhages on the mucous
membrane and in the internal organs.
A previous attack of influenza is a common predisposing cause of this
disease, which appears most frequently a few weeks after convalescence
is established. It occurs more frequently in those animals which have
made a rapid convalescence and are apparently perfectly well than it
does in those which have made a slower recovery.
Anasarca commences by symptoms which are excessively variable. The local
lesions may be confined to a small portion of the animal's body and the
constitutional phenomena be nil. The appearance and gravity of the local
lesions may be so unlike, from difference of location, that they seem to
belong to a separate disease, and complications may completely mask the
original trouble.
In the simplest form the first symptom noticed is a swelling, or several
swellings, occurring on the surface of the body--on the forearm, the
leg, the under surface of the belly, or the side of the head. The
tumefaction is at first the size of a hen's egg; not hot, little
sensitive, and distinctly circumscribed by a marked line from the
surrounding healthy tissue. These tumors gradually extend until they
coalesce, and in a few hours we have swelling of the legs, legs and
belly, or the head, to an enormous size; they have always the
characteristic constricted border, which looks as if it had been tied
with a cord. In the nostrils are found small reddish spots, or petechiae,
which gradually assume a brownish and frequently a black color.
Examination of the mouth will frequently reveal similar lesions on the
surface of the tongue, along the lingual gutter, and on the fraenum. If
the external swelling has been on the head, the petechiae of the mucous
membranes are liable to be more numerous and to coalesce into patches of
larger size than when the dropsy is confined to the legs. The animal may
be rendered stiff by the swelling of the legs, or be annoyed by an
awkward swollen head, which at times may be so enormous as to resemble
that of a hippopotamus rather than that of a horse. During this period
the temperature remains normal; the pulse, if altered at all, is only a
little weaker; the respiration is only hurried if the swelling of the
head infringes on the caliber of the nostrils. The appetite remains
normal. The animal is attentive to all that is going on, and, except for
the swelling, apparently in perfect health.
In from two to four days, in severe cases, the tissues can no longer
resist the pressure of the exuded fluid. Over the surface of the skin
which covers the dropsy we find a slight serous sweating, which loosens
the epidermis and dries so as to simulate the eruption of some cutaneous
disease. If this is excessive we may see irritated spots which are
suppurating. In the nasal fossae the hemorrhagic spots have acted as
irritants, and, inviting an increased amount of blood to the
Schneiderian membrane, produce a coryza or even a catarrh. We may now
find some enlargement and peripheral edema of the lymphatic glands,
which are fed from the affected part. The thermometer indicates a slight
rise in the body temperature, while the pulse and respiration are
somewhat accelerated. The appetite usually remains good. In the course
of a few days the temperature may have reached 102 deg., 103 deg., or 104 deg. F.
Fever is established, not an essential or specific fever in any way, but
a simple secondary fever produced by the dead material from the surface
or superficial suppuration, and by the oxidization and absorption of the
colloid mass contained in the tissues. The skin may suppurate or slough
more or less over the areas of greatest tension or where it is irritated
by blows or pressure. The great swelling about the head may by closure
of the nostrils interfere seriously with breathing. Internal edema may
occur in the throat, lungs, or intestines. Septicemia, or blood
poisoning, may result from anasarca.
_Terminations._--The simple form of the disease most frequently
terminates favorably on the eighth or tenth day by resolution or
absorption of the effusion, with usually a profuse diuresis, and with or
without diarrhea. The appetite remains good or is at times capricious.
Death may occur from mechanical asphyxia, produced by closure of the
nostrils or closure of the glottis. Metastasis to the lungs is almost
invariably fatal, causing death by asphyxia, Metastasis to the
intestines may cause death from pain, enteritis, or hemorrhage.
Excessive suppuration, lymphangitis, and gangrene are causes of a fatal
termination by exhaustion. Mortal exhaustion is again produced by
inability to swallow in cases of excessive swelling of the head.
Peritonitis may arise secondary to the enteric edema, or by perforation
of the stomach or intestines by a gangrenous spot. Septicemia terminates
fatally with its usual train of symptoms.
_Alterations._--The essential alterations of anasarca are exceedingly
simple; the capillaries are dilated, the lymphatic spaces between the
fibers of the connective tissue are filled with serum, and the
coagulable portion of the blood presents a yellowish or citrine mass,
jellylike in consistency, which has stretched out the tissue like the
meshes of a sponge. Where the effusion has occurred between the muscles,
as in the head, these are found dissected and separated from each other
like those of a hog's head by the masses of fat. The surface of the skin
is desquamated and frequently denuded of the hair. Frequently there are
traces of suppuration and of ulceration. The mucous membrane of the nose
is found studded with small, hemorrhagic spots, sometimes red, more
frequently brown or black, often coalesced with each other in
irregular-sized patches and surrounded by a reddish zone, the product of
irritation. If edema of the intestines has occurred, the membrane is
found four or five times its normal thickness, reddish in color, with
hemorrhages on the free surface. Edema of the lungs leaves these organs
distended. The secondary alterations vary according to the
complications. There are frequently the lesions of asphyxia; externally
we find ulcers, abscesses, and gangrenous spots and the deep ulcers
resulting from the latter. The lymphatic cords and glands are found with
all the lesions of lymphangitis. Again are found the traces of excessive
emaciation, or the lesions of septicemia. Except from the complications
the blood is not altered in anasarca.
_Diagnosis._--The diagnosis of anasarca must principally be made from
farcy or glanders. In anasarca the swelling is nonsensitive, while
sensitive in the acute swelling of farcy. The nodes of farcy are
distinct and hard and never circumscribed, as in the other disease. The
eruption of glanders on the mucous membranes is nodular, hard, and
pelletlike. The redness disappears on pressure. In case of excessive
swelling of the head in anasarca, there may occur an extensive
sero-fibrinous exudation from the mucous membranes of the nose, poured
out as a semifluid mass or as a cast of the nasal fossae, never having
the appearance or typical oily character which it has in glanders. The
inflammation of the lymphatic cords and glands in anasarca does not
produce the indurated character which is found in farcy.
_Prognosis._--While anasarca is not an excessively fatal disease, the
prognosis must always be guarded. The majority of cases run a simple
course and terminate favorably at the end of 8 or 10 days, or possibly,
after one to two relapses, requiring several weeks for complete
recovery. Effusion into the head renders the prognosis much more grave
from the possible danger of mechanical asphyxia. Threatened mechanical
asphyxia is especially dangerous on account of the risk of blood
poisoning after an operation of tracheotomy. Edema of the viscera is a
most serious complication. The prognosis is based on the complications,
their extent, and their individual gravity, existing, as they do here,
in an already debilitated subject.
_Treatment._--The treatment of anasarca may be as variable as are the
lesions. The indications are at once shown by the alterations and
mechanism of the disease, which we have just studied.
Hygiene comes into play as the most important factor. Oats, oat-and-hay
tea, milk, eggs--anything which the stomach or rectum can be coaxed to
take care of--must be employed to give the nutriment, which is the only
thing that will permanently strengthen the tissues; they must be
strengthened in order to keep the capillaries at their proper caliber.
Laxatives, diaphoretics, and diuretics must be used to stimulate the
emunctories so that they may carry off the large amount of the products
of decomposition which result from the stagnated effusions of anasarca.
Of these the sulphate of soda in small, repeated doses, the nitrate of
potash and bicarbonate of soda in small quantity, or the chlorate of
potash in single large doses will be found useful. Williams cites the
chlorate of potash as an antiputrid. Stimulants and astringents are
directly indicated. Spirits of turpentine serves the double purpose of a
cardiac stimulant and a powerful, warm diuretic, for the kidneys in this
disease will stand a wonderful amount of work. Camphor can be used with
advantage. Coffee and tea are two of the diffusible stimulants which are
too much neglected in veterinary medicine; both are valuable adjuncts in
treatment of anasarca, as they are during convalescence at the end of
any grave disease which has tended to render the patient anemic. Dilute
sulphuric and hydrochloric acids are, perhaps, the best examples of a
combination of stimulant, astringent, and tonic which can be employed.
The simple astringents of mineral origin, sulphates of iron, copper,
etc., are useful as digestive tonics; I doubt whether they have any
constitutional effect. The vegetable astringents, tannic acid, etc.,
have not proved efficacious in my hands. Iodid of potash in small doses
serves the triple purpose of digestive tonic, denutritive for
inflammation, and diuretic. Among the newer forms of treatment are
diluted Lugol's solution injected into the trachea, anti-streptococcus
serum and colloidal silver solution injected into the circulation. No
one but a qualified veterinarian would be competent to apply these
remedies.
_Externally._--Sponging the swollen parts, especially the head, when the
swelling occurs there, is most useful. The bath should be at an extreme
of temperature--either ice cold to constrict the tissues or hot water to
act as an emollient and to favor circulation. Vinegar may be added as an
astringent. When we have excessively denuded surfaces, suppuration, or
open wounds, disinfectants should be added to the wash.
In cases of excessive swelling, especially of the head, mechanical
relief may be required. Even in country practice, punctures of the part
should be made with the hot iron, as no other disease so predisposes to
septic contamination. When mechanical asphyxia is threatened tracheotomy
may be demanded. With the first evidence of dyspnea, not due to closing
of the nostrils or glottis, or with the first pawing which gives rise to
a suspicion of colic, a mustard plaster should be applied over the whole
belly and chest. The sinapism will draw the current of the circulation
to the exterior, the metastasis to the lungs or intestines is prevented,
and the enfeebled nervous system is stimulated to renewed vigor by the
peripheral irritation. The organs are encouraged by it to renewed
functional activity; the local inflammation produced by it favors
absorption of the exudation. The objection to the use of blisters is
their more severe action and the danger of mortification. Septicemia,
when occurring as a complication, requires the ordinary treatment for
the putrid diseases, with little hope of a good result.
After recovery the animal regains its ordinary health, and there is no
predisposition to a return of the disease.
HORSEPOX, OR EQUINE VARIOLA.
_Synonyms._--Variola equina; pustular grease; phlyctenold
herpes.
_Definition._--Horsepox is a specific, infectious fever of the horse,
attended by an eruption of pustules, or pocks, over any part of the skin
or on the mucous membranes lining the various cavities in the body, but
chiefly, and often exclusively, upon the pasterns and fetlocks. The
eruption may commence upon the lips, or about the nostrils or eyes.