ABSTRACTS
Die Stallrotkrankheit des Rindes. (Chronic Haematuria of
Cattle)
SCHLEGEL M. Munch Tierartz. Wchft. 85, 365 -371 and 380—384.
Schlegel's first article on haematuria was published in 1912. With the official
support of the Ministries of the Interior and of Agriculture of the Reich, a very com-
prehensive investigation has been carried out since 1927. The results are now recorded
in a series of documented articles. With the collaboration of a geologist, a botanist
and a chemist, a scientific survey of haematuria localities—the so-called " hunger farms "
of the Black Forest in Germany, has been carried out. Details of geological and
chemical characters of the soil of haematuria farms, their water supply and botanical
flora, the chemical and physiological characters of blood and urine, the clinical and
post mortem features, associated with the disease have been studied. Affected farms
are found to contain granite soil and sandstone, and the hay to be rich in crude fibre
but deficient in albumin, mineral salts and vitamins. Water supply contains acids
but is poor in mineral salts. The author is inclined to ascribe causation to these defi-
ciencies, and his control measures are evolved from this stand-point. Microscopic
and cultural examinations and transmission experiments in large and small animals
have been carried out, and on the basis of the negative results obtained, he excludes
emphatically, bacterial infections (Detroye, Galtier and Bondeau), animal parasites,
coccidia (Arnold, Scharer), Filariae and Distomes (Lydtin), Pentastomes (Burton),
passive hyperaemia and round cell sarcoma of the bladder (Hink), toxic and mechanical
outflow and unskilled manipulation at the time of birth, and also chemical poisons
like Oxalic acid (Hadwen and Roger). The author records that while in one farm
all the 22 animals contracted the disease, occasionally sporadic cases were met with.
Commencing with Ross's work of 1878, the author surveys the literature [the
previous 40 years' existing literature would appear to be unknown to the author], and
designs his transmission experiments to test each of the suggested causes. First to
ascertain the truth of the general belief existing for long amongst owners of " red
farms " (haematuria) that the disease is somehow transmitted from animal to animal,
and to test the bacterial theory, the author collected blood from the jugular vein from
clinical cases and administered it whole or defibrinated by either one or more of the
intravenous, subcutaneous or oral routes into healthy animals, haematuria urine
being given at the same time either orally or subcutaneously. These administrations
were repeated several times in each animal, the animals being kept under observation
up to 11 weeks until destruction, and their respiration, pulse, temperature and character
of the urine noted. 80 c.c. to 200 c.c. of defibrinated or whole blood was given intra¬
veneously or subcutaneously, 50 c.c. to 180 c.c. of urine containing a high percentage
of blood was administered subcutaneously and orally, while ¾ litre or more urine was
drenched. No abnormality was noted in life or at autopsy, inspite of these large
doses being repeated five or more times. Similarly, 65 c.c. of a filtered emulsion of
verrucose bladder growths and of the kidney from a clinical case was given subcuta¬
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