Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1893-06-22
ICOMMUNICATED.1
Mcchanicstown, Md, June 90, 1870;

Mcchanicstown, Md, June 90 1893.
EDITOR CLARIoN:--
In lieu of the fact that, n feeling of uncasi-
ness prevails among our people on account
of several cases of hydrDphohia which oc-
Cured in this locality recently, | will venture
a few words conformation upon said disease,
| am glad to say that thus far no human be-
| ing las Eccn affected, the disease being con-
fined to dogs, cattle, horses, hogs and sheep.
Hydrophohia has been known, dreaded,
and studied, for over 600 years.
The dog is the only animal in which ny.
drophohia will occur spontaneously. No
other animal can have the disease except by
direct nocul dion. A typical case of hydro
general change in his ways and habits. He
becomes dull and crouchcs down in dark and
quiet corners. He tries to sleep but is dis
turhcd by painful dreams and decisions; then
he Mil rise, walk about, then lie down again.
He is in continuous state of rcstlcssncss
and agitation Ifdistulbcd he growls and
! shows little inclination to stir At this stage
Of the disease he will obey the voice Of his
master and has no tendency to bite yet. The
| agitation increases In his kennel he piles
up the straw, Laws his chest On II, then rises
| in anger and scatttrs the litter about. He
begins now to lick cold objects. He Is
haunted hy visions and hnllucnations, he
barhs, snaps, and gIowls at imaginary be
|
| ihgs. At this stag" he still ohcyS the voice
of his mas:c.' ana has no tendency to bite
him, The Suliya from the dogs mouth is vir-
ulcnt at tins time and has been 81 for days
Previous This fact will account for the su.
perst,lous idea that in case a cog wen, mad
any one whom ne may have bitten previous
to his NADINE IS would 90 mad also. The sa
Iva hclng virulcnt for = days before any evil
dcnce OF the disease, it is plainly evident that
the dog Is fully as dangerous, provided he
should bite anyone rs he would he in the
paroXysm of rabies The mad dog has no
horror of or rcpulsion for water. He never
avoi Is water On the contrary at all periods
of the ma'aly he drinks eagerly or tries to
drink When he fails to swallow the water
| it is owing to the spasmodic contraction OF
his throat A, this slagrihc sight otanothcr
dog will generally put the mad dog into a
| tit OF pass ION, This il therefore an easy and
valuable test method. The SAME effect is
produced by sigh offs dog on all rahid ami,
mails, to whatever species they belong, Man
alone constitutes an exception to this rule
| He now begins to tear and bite at things
within III, reach The pupils are dilated and
| his whole expression is one of terrible fierce
ness While biting and tearing he is always
silent the non rahid dog always bites, fights,
and barks all at once. lie will VOW leave his
home and wander far away. He will now
bite every living animal he meets, prcicrrng
animals rather than man. AT this stage the
tail is still KEEP, high and wagging. Later
on, when tired, he walks with lettering
| gait the head low, the tongue hanging out
| of the mouth, covered with blood and dust.
| His sight, as well as his other senses is now
dullcd, his tail now, in the latter end of the
malady. falling helpless He has now lived
| about } days from the first evidence OF dis
ease. During the last 2i hours he has
| suffered repeated attacks Of furious madness,
| which may continue for day or two longer.
| About this time his sight is very dim, his
general scnsbillty is blun,cd, he can be beat
cn, plickcd, or even slightly burned wlthou,
| stirring. He is now parulyzed in his hind
quarters and will sometimes bite and tear at
| l,. l,l Il Ia. c),
hauslion and asphyXla There is another
form Of hydrophobia called dumb madness,
which is the same disease, but manitcsts its
presence in Mlder way than furious rabies.
| The dumb form is EXHIBITED most frequently
in cattle. They spend almost the entire time
standing still or lying down. The eyes are
open, fixed and cxprcssionlcss. Depression
OF the nervous system and muscular weak
ness soon ends the fight The period of in
cuba,on intervening between the bite of a
rabd animal and the development of hydro
phoba Is very enormously supposed to be 8
days The rule is: Rabies supervencs of.
tcncst in the course of the second month after
! infection, rarely after after the third month,
and exceptionally rare after the sixth month.
The exceptions to this rule are those cases
where many months, or years, after infection
the disease developed. Dogs are much more
susceptible to the disease than human beings:
about topper cent. of dogs bitten develop the
disease, while only about % per cent Of hui
man beings bitten develope rabies. There
being no treatment in either case A bite
from a mad dog on the naked skin is much
more dangerous than a bite through several
thlcknesscs Of clothing. In the latter case
the teeth Of the animal are wiped of in biting
and less harm results
In all eoses OF mad dog bite, promote free
bleeding, by plenty of washing. Get Il ply
slcian If possible before the lapse of an hour
from the time Of biting, If a physician is not
available take clean sharp knife and open
up the bitten parts wei SO that free bleeding
takes place after which cauterize the bite
with any drug you may possess which burns
animal tissue. fyou hayc no caustc of any
kind use hot iron and use it well. AT some
future time | may give synopsis OF the
treatment for hydrophobia as practiced by
DR.. Paul Paqun at the United States Pasteur
Institute, No. 175 w. 10th ST., New York
(iiv