10
The febrile paroxysms of camel Surra, as in equine cases are often not
accompanied by marked loss of appetite when kept on rations ; but on the
grazing ground, the loss of appetite is much more manifest.
49. In India, examination of the blood for trypanosomes is a necessary-
part of the examination of camels in fever.
Pneumonia, pleurisy, peritonitis and pericarditis are all diagnosable by
the symptoms associated with these diseases in other animals. The various
characteristic changes in the respirations are very faithfully shown in the
camel. Percussion is as useful as in the horse provided the camel may be
got on to a verandah or into some building for the purpose. Auscultation is
also of use when it can be carried out away from the noise associated with
camel-lines.
In pneumonia and pleuro-pneumonia the cough is soft and suppressed
and almost like a sigh and it frequently passes unnoticed by the camelmen ;
if it is desired to find out whether the animal coughs, the best way is to see
him rise from a sitting position, as the cough frequently occurs on rising.
A common sequel to lobar pneumonia in the camel is abscess in the lung ;
this is the most common cause of chronic cough in Punjab camels. The
cough is stronger than that of pneumonia and often accompanied by a rattling
sound ; the abscess is often very large and then percussion, etc., is useful in
confirming one's suspicions. The camel may live several months with gradual
loss of condition, though often there is little or no fever or loss of appetite
until the disease is advanced.
50. Wounds and ulcers inside the lips are common in Punjab camels,
and are liable to be mistaken for lesions of specific diseases ; a desert bred
camel imported into country like the Salt Range often suffers at first from
sore mouth from the phulai grazing and sore feet from the stony ground, and
the result seems to have been confounded with foot-and-mouth disease.
Bots may be coughed out in the course of febrile diseases such as pneumo-
nia, but they are harmless, and not necessarily the cause of the cough. When
bots are got rid of in healthy camels it is by a sudden strong sneeze. In
constipation, the shape of the dung-pellets becomes cylindrical with twisted-
looking ends.
51. Very serious symptoms in febrile cases, are inability to rise, total
refusal of gram (in camels used to gram), sunken eyes, excessive dribbling
of saliva, cold external temperature, and retaining food in the mouth without
chewing it ; a camel about to die is often found covered by swarms of flies,
and the bones of the neck may bulge out at one side owing to the head being
supported entirely by the ligamentum nuchae.
52. Pain.— If the camel when sitting is constantly shifting his position
he may be the subject of abdominal pain or of pleurisy, but far more commonly
he is simply trying to shift the weight of his body from an injured pad
generally the breast pad.
Abdominal pain due to spasmodic affections is accompanied by symptoms
resembling those in the horse ; and tympanitis occurs as in the ox.
In febrile diseases accompanied by pain (pleurisy, peritonitis, gastro-
enteritis) the neck is carried stiffly erect and the ears pricked backwards.
Grinding the teeth and grunting are symptoms of pain occurring as in
the ox but less frequently ; grunting as a symptom is heard most commonly
in the act of rising. Grinding the teeth is common in lung-abscess ; in health,
it occurs in musth camels or after eating salt.
In most painful diseases the belly is markedly tucked up ; but in
peritonitis this is not the case, the respirations being rapid and thoracic,
generally with a distinct interval at the end of inspiration, the animal delay-
ing the act of expiration as long as he can. Although this disease occurs
unexpectedly in camels, these signs, with continual pain and fever enable
one to diagnose with accuracy.
Abdominal pain is also shown by the camel sitting with his hind legs
tucked to one side so as to press his belly on the ground.
Pleurisy resulting from fractured rib is more common in camels than
other animals.
" Dry " pleurisy is not uncommon.
53. 0edemas.—In the camel, by far the majority of cases of trypanoso-
miasis show no oedematous swellings at all. Oedema of the belly behind