The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1897-12-24

Wet Daa 10 ceaa.sncnt, - oessvsiiy sac.
posed--Infooted by Man.

ret Due 70 ceaaneuncnt. - oepsvaitr nup.
posed--Infootod by Man.
Owing 10 the large mortality
among monkeys due to phthisis, it
Is we'll known that, so far as lung
troubles are concerned, these ami
mails are much like human beings.
1t is the general belief, however,
that the disease Is contracted by
confinement and unnatural oonai-
tions.
DR.. Hubbard Windsor Mitchell re-
,ently prepared paper on phthisfs
as it affected the wild balloons oil
west Africa and somo OF our don,e,,.
tic animals. OF his African expo
rience DR.. Mitchell says:
"Some years ago, while I was Wis
iting weat Africa, spent consider
able time on the Kongo river, and
in the wild and unknown rogfons
bordering the south bank OF that
great stream l saw largo nunibeys
of balloons.
ION several occasions, white We
were hunting for deer ssd ether
game, a group Of baboons wvu1d Be
seen lowering over one of tkefr
number who appeared 70 bs wzabfs
to move. 1t was easy to aFrrouch
him, as he was too foebls To egcays.
His companions soampered awsy
and watched me at short distance,
with amusing curiosity. Inqt1ring
If the natives what the trouble was,
found that the baboons wefe fro-
qucntly taken i'll with some chest
trouble which was similar to that
from which the natives themselves
suffered. This l learned afterward
was phthisis, which is not uncoffi-
mon among the blacks in the lower
KOngo district.
"a the wild and almost uninhab-
tied country about $50 miles north
of Cape Town, i'll South Africa, the
common baboon is very numerous.
An English officer who lived in that
region told me tho natives frequent
ly contracted phthisis on their visits
to Cape Town, and it seemed proba-
Bile that the sputum of this people,
being carelessly voided in their gar
dens and about their houses, was
communicated to the baboons in
some OF their marauding expedi-
tons 1t was not an uncommon
sight to see a sick baboon present.
ing tho same symptoms rs the ma.
tives when suffering from phthisis.
II soon had an opportunity to
verify this fact. One day, while
hunting in the adjacent hills, camo
across baboon lying on the ground
who was extremely emaciatod and
had severe and violent cough. At
that time the existence of the tuber-
Gle bacillus WAS not known, but |
felt sure that the animal was ruffer-
ing from pulmonary tuberculosis "
DR.. Mitchell adds some of the ro-
suits Of his Investigations among
our domestic animals md those used |
for food He says:
1.-The common OK is frequently
afflicted with pulmonary tuterss-
losis; so much 60, in fS1t, ~ To
make necessary a rigid sur1eSffsses
of our great abattoirs by eoMpoteat
and authorized inspectors. Undoupt-
cdly these animals contract ITO dfs.
ease from their long and close Yros-
unity to man.
1.-The dog and the cat eEe hesA o.
tremely liable to pulmonary tzSxe-
and this would sesm kezxvtf
Il foregone fact from their fat+nsxts
with man.
1.-THE duck, the goore snd tas 10
mestic fowl raroly, but oeesssoarffy,
contract this discane. "a IN nst iss-
probable that other animsla fan vfy-
tins to tuberculosis, but they Do not
specially interest us. II is those AMI.
mails with which we deal daily, ana
whose flesh and milk We eonsur,as as
articles of food, that tntVrsst ss
1npSt o1pcal1- ;,