The Portland daily press., 1895-12-30
CEREBRO-sPlNAL FEVER.
DR.. Bailey Talks of the Unusual Disease
that Killed the West Gray Horses.

DIR. George II. Bailey has just returned
from a trip to West Gray in the interests
OF the cattle commission. DR.. Bailey
said in conversation with PRESS re-
porter:
1.-The cause or causes of this disease
seem to owe their existance to the en-
trance into the animal body of specific
poison not well understood. The poison
having been absorbed, acts upon the great
nerve centres, and they may die by shock
or collapse, by blood poisoning or upon
deranged nervous function. The impair
ment of motor power is often SO rapidly
developed that the horse falls to the
ground in most uncom Portable man
ner. When down there are ordinarily con-
siderable struggling with clonic and con-
vulsiye contraction of the superior cervi-
cal and dorsal muscles. The conjunc-
tinae of the eyes are highly injected, and
acute pain is evident upon pressure
along the spine. The prognosis. while
uncertain, it is always to be remembered
that 1T is both an cratic and fatal
AAAnAtsaJI uitO ldIScI AuiADGG
during the first week of the attack. l
first based my diagnosis upon the history
OF the case as given me by one of the
owners and attendants. This was proved
By the post-mortem of the horse tn at
died, which was the only one of the five
that I attended. Upon exposure of the
BARN there was great.syascularity Of the
cerebral arachnoid and considera BILE
collection of purulent matter at the base.
The chorril plexus was injected, and the
arbor y1ate of blood red color; the large
veins in their way to the several ainuses,
also appearing remarkably turgid.
/ do otapprehend that there will.be
other. cases occurring in this state, as the
past history shows that it appears only
at considerable intervals, although it has
visited about all the New England states
as we'll as Canada.
Il The disease found by me to exist in
the case of the last of the fine horses that
died SO suddenly at West Gray last week,
may be briefly defined as non-contagious
epizootic cere hro-spinal meningitis, more
properly, cerebro- spinal fever, a disease
which is comparatively little known in
Maine. is first appearance in the United
States was in New York city during the
winter and towards the spring of 1872,
where it appeared with great violence
among the horses used by the street rail
way companies, accompanied with a
tremendous fatality and created great
CONSERVATION among horse owners. 1t
seems to attack all classes OF horses in
well-kept as we'll as III stables where
unsanitary conditions exist. as occurred
in West Gray. The horses are affected
suddenly while enjoying apparent health,
often with spasms of the muscles of the
neck becoming fixed and rigid, with the
head drawn we'll back upon the vertib-
raj column, SO that they are unable to
move it forward together with spasmodic
tremors and twitching of the muscles and
marked rigidities of the muscles of the
spine and extremities In the cases at
Gray, about the first thing noticed was
difficulty of prehension and paralysis of
the throat. rendering them completely
unable to swallow water or medicine.
'fAny treatment of the disease is of a
very unsatisfactory character and the
most judicious and we'll directed treat
ment will generally fail to arrest a fatal
termination.