Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-09-18
A CATTLE EPIDEMIC.

Words OF Warning from the State veterf-
narian-Missouri Cattle May Possibly be
Afflicted with Foot and Mouth Disease
No Present Cause for Alarm-Iow to
Meet and Check the MaIady When it
Appears.
COLUMBIA, Mo-, Sept. State Vet
erinarian Paquin has prepared for pub
LEGATION the following circular:
FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE.
! At the outset beg the stocklnah not to be
alarmed at this heading and the newspa-
| pers not to raise scare by partial eXplana-
| toas of this letter inaccurate dtscrip-
| tions of the disease / am abous to explain,
| or by partial explanation of my opinion.
Heretofore much damage has been done
our live stock men, farmers and our mar
| tustiiable, incorrect publications. and
| by ridiculous excitement, aided, per-
Some years, ago a panic was created
! in the live stock centars because
of an outbreak of ergotism in Kansas
which had been termed foot and mouth dis
| ease. The error was very unfortunate, but
| had there been no error and had it been the
| foot and mouth disease of Europe, why
! such excitement? 1t is the mldest cpl
! demic of stock known, and the death rate
| scarcely rises to 10 per cent in the most vir.
! uIent outbreaks and not u per cent. in the
! ordinary. The only serious damage that it
| does cause is in reducing the tlesh and
| stopping the milk. Here it does hurt to the
amount of several dollars per head. 1t is
| trouble that L write and exp ain publicly
"a nov prevalent malady attacking the
! mouth anc feet of cattle in several counties
! in our State, and creating conservation
among farmers and stockmen.
My object is to explain what to do, and
emphatically declare that there is absolute.
! ~ no need of alarm in the slightest degree
| Now if some wise man or knowing charac-
ter does rot feel called upon to scare the
| people, all will be benefited who suffer-
| ing and none will suffer who are free
attena sta to a tier wGpld
were possible and none would hear of the
| matter until official reports are published.
| 1t is our policy to destroy all contagfon and
infection quietly and without publication.
| But in this instance We are taxed beyond
! our capacity. The demands for advice
| too frequent and the trouble too much scat
| tered, and erroneous notices have already
! been published. We can benefit al and the
| whole State only by general public work.
respectfully request every paper OF this
State to copy this in full-preface and also
/ that every community may be informed of
| its duties and now to prevent losses.
IT Is A MOUTH AND FooT DISEASE.
There is disease now prevailing among
| cattle in several counties in which biisters
| break in the mouth, particularly about the
| lips and gums. The cattle appear sauuter
and sauater day after day for want OF food.
/ III examined the nose may be found hot dry
ana sometimes wine color In patches. Bis
/ tiers appear on the inside and on the margin
| OF the lips, which become more or less raw,
ana bleed easily. The PAD upper Jaw gum
| corresponding TO the front teeth of lower
! jaw also presents blisteTs, which soon break,
| form II thick. yell oWiSl, cracked, soft crust,
Sometimes the tongue is DIotched or Diis-
/ tered but rarely. There is much drooIi-lg
/ of stringv, Watery matter from the mouth,
and the odor from it if any thing but agree
| able-often very fetid, indeed. Those yell
| lowish cruSts slough out after few days
and leave raw Su faces or sores In a few
/ cases complications arise by which gan
| CREME (rotting in facD Of the gums extend
/ to the jaw bones or teeth, and in few in
stances the teeth becomes loose and even
/ drop OFT.
There is often present a peculiar smack
| Most Of cases BECOME stiff and lame from
/ the same LESSONS breaking in the feet CHE
/ cleft particularly. Occasionally, also, DliS-
tiers and consequent results (ScabS, cruStS
and even raw sorcs) occur on the udder. In
three or four cases know these appeared on
the neck, the belly, the back and about the
root of the tail. Uncommoniy there is
diarrhGa. The malady runs its regular
course in an average OF about eight DAYS.
/ The shortest course l have noticed was five
! and the longest eleven There are irregular
! complicated cases which last much
! longer Fever, more or less intense keeps
up most of the time The type is very mild.
| death rate being. SO far l can learn, less
tnan one in two hundred.
| PREVENTIVE AND CURATIVE TREATMENTS.
| l. Separate all the sick and suspicious from
| the healthy stoci-leaying the former where
! the disease began and putting the healthy
/ in new pasture or lot.
2. Wash the mouth twice day with solu-
| ton of borax or alum or both combined, l.
e., wash composed of, say, a ia bles poonful
or more of pulveriZed boraX and alum to
| pint of water
3. Watch very closely the healthy stock
| and separate every new case gauntness
| appears, or as any suspicious symptom may
| present itself, such as latncness. stiffness,
Gullness dry nose, difficulty in taking food,
| etc, etc.
| L. Persons attending to such diseased stock
| should not visit pastures places occupied
by healthy stock. whether on their own
! property or a their neighbours; and all who
| have healthy stock should abst ain from WIS.,
| ting diseased stock.
| 5. Buckets and other articles used for d is
| eased stock should not be used for any thing
! else unless washed and scaided.
| 8 stock from infected herds should not be
| shipped to market or moved from the in
| fected grounds, and none should be allowed
| on highways.
| swine away from the infected herds.
| s. Persons with sores or chapped hands
| should handle the disease carefully and
| wash clean after dressing cases
1t viii pay to follow strictly all these
| measures Of precauton. Some of them may
/ appear unnecessary, but they all are based
| on rational HYGIENE principles that should
| not be trans@ressed In bad or complicated
| cases. in which the feet are much affected a
| daily wash with a copperaS solution viii be
| Il great assistance
| Feed--The lips usually become so sore that
/ the cattle can not pick any food. That is
| what causes such extreme gauntnes5 and
| falling in flesh us characterizes the malady.
| ternai LESSONS, but seems generally caused
| chiefly by starvation during the fever. To
! avoid such results feed the stock Cruel and
! push ears of corn into the mouth directly
| under the grinders, when the patients VIII
| chew them and eat. Now, is this the Eu-
| ropean foot and mouth disease? confess
| not yet positive, though it corre-
| spends exactly with authoritative de-
! scrptfons of it. Bat this much is
| tain, it is epidemic affection OF
| the mouth and feet in cattle, an it is new
| to me. ] know it is neither simple aphtha
simple eczema nor ergotism. l am
| familiar with all these. We are now en-
| gagged with tests with a view to solve the
| question of infection and contagion but we
| deem it necessary to instruct the people at
| once and not wait for the results of these
! experiments.
| The number of letters received concern
| ing this disease precludes the possibility of
| official visits to all, 50 it is urged that stock
owners follow the directions given here and
| quarantine their own diseased stock. They
will find it profitable to themselves and
| country.
Any citizen having this affection among
| his herd will kindly report to me at once,
| giving their township, county, nature of
| disease, number of cases, number CT deaths
and stating if any other animal than cattle
| took the disease
| Again l ask all papers interested in the
| welfare OF their community to please copy
| IL full PAUL PAQUIN,
Missouri State Eeterin arian.
f.,ykv TIT. Inv ,,,,St