Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1905-08-31
CATTLE DISEASE.
stomach Worm In Young Animals
and Its Remedy.


experiment station
Investigation in November, 1904, of
a disease affecting calves and young
cattle In the northwestern part of
South Carolina developed that the dis
ease was caused by the presence of
numbers of small bloodsucking worms
In the rennet or fourth stomach of the
cattle. This parasite is commonly call
ed the stomach worm" or twisted
wireworm," the scientific name being
Strongylus contortus. The diseased
condition is known among stockmen
as the stomach worm disease" In
medicine the disease Is designated YER
minous gastritis and strongylosis of
the abomasunS There is reason to be-
lieve that part of the winter loss OF
calves In the state, which has been ac-
eepted as matter of course, has been
due to this worm. 1t is also probab BILE
that the disease has been mistaken at
times for calf "scours" (diarrhea) and
for the autumnal or chronic form Of
Texas fever (red water.
In the cases Investigated the first
signs OF the disease appeared in the lat
ter part Of August or the fore part Of
September. The young cattle began
to show rundown" or unthrifty ap-
pearance. Grass was getting short at
that season, and In many cases the
owners attributed the trouble to the
short pasture and began feeding grain
or meal with hay, bulls or fodder But
in spite of generous feeding the young
cattle continued to lose flesh and
strength. Then, one after another,
they appeared dull and later stood off
from the other cattle in what is gen.
orally described as a ''droopy condi-
ton" A few days after this a swell
ing appeared under the jaws or the
animal began to 'scour' (diarrhea) In
some cases the swelling appeared first
In others the "scours," but both were
finally present.
The swelling was peculiar in many
respects. 1t was neither hot nor ten
der and was more or less soft in some
cases feeling like a sack filed with
fluid and in others like a mass Of
dough. 1t started near the point where
the lower jaws come together to form
the chin and gradually extended back
ward toward the throat Most Of the
time the animals ate heartily, although
occasionally they did not have much
appetite.
The worms live in the animal by
sucking blood from the stomach wall.
In nearly all cases the disease progress
ed slowly. the animals living two to
three months after the first symptoms
appeared, the time depending upon the
condition Of the animal when attacked.
Treatment Advised.
The sick animals and all of the young
cattle under one and one-half years old
which had been at pasture with them
were to receive dose Of coal tar creo-
sote shaken up In pint of water, the
dose being graduated according to age,
as follows: Calves three to eight
months old, twenty-five to fifty drops;
yearlings, seventy-five drops; one to
one and a half years old, two tea
spoonfuls. The animals were not to
have any feed for twelve hours before
the medicine was given nor any water
for six hours afterward. The coal tar
creosote was to be given in this man
ner once a week for two or three
weeks If it appeared necessary. The
sick animals were also to receive
half teaspoonful of reduced iron and
teaspoonful of common salt in each
feed. In this connection 1t should be
stated that the creosote ordinarily dis
pensed in drug stores for internal use
Is beechwood creosote, which is an en-
tirely different substance from coal tar
creosote and is of no value in this dis
ease.
The results obtained show that coal
tar creosote Is an effective remedy
against the twisted wireworm," but
that 1t cannot be expected to save all
those animals in which the diseased
condition produced by the parasite has
advanced to an extreme degree.