Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-04-09
Swamp Fever or Infectious Ane-
mia of Horses

0eHtrdl PORTIONS or Kansas, and
is still present in some sections.
1t seems to be most prevalent
during wet seasons, in low lying,
badly drained sections ard dur
Ing the summer months.
The cause of the disease as
given by DR.. John R. Mohler, the
: Chief of the Pathological Divis.
ion of the Bureau of Animal In
dustry at Washington, is as fol.
lows:
1T has been cOnclusively proven
that infectious anemia is produc-
ed by an invisible, filterable or
ganism which is transmisSible to
horses, mules and asses by sub
cutaneOus incubation of blood
serum. The virus which is pres
ent in the blood may be transmit
ted to a number of equines in a
series Of inoculatiOns by injecting
either the whole blood, the def
brlnated blood, or the blood Sc
rum which has been passed
through fine Pasteur filter, thu.
eliminating all the visible forms
OF OrganiSmal life, including bac-
terra, trypanOsoma-piroplasma ct
nal parasites, etc, is now re.
celving careful investigation. "
Following the injection of the
Infectious principle there-ls a pc
rod Of incubation which may ex-
tend from ten days to one and
One-half months, at the end Of
which time the onset of the dis
. ease is manifested by rise of
temperature. If uncOmplicated,
the infection runs a chronic
course, terminating in death in
from two months to one and one
half years, or even longer. The
spread by an intermediate host,
such as flies, mosquitoes, inter-
This virus has also been found
to be active in the carcass of an
affected animal twenty-four hrs.
after Geath.
Symptoms About the first
symptoms noticed are a general
weakness of the animal, it tires
very easily and is not able to do
any work. The loss off flesh is
apparent in spite of the voracious
appetite which the animal has al
times. The appetite usually re-
mains good until death, but the
feed seems to do the animal no
good. The temperature is very
irregular. Some days it runs up
quite high, at times to 107 de-
grees; again it is below normal.
1t frequently remains high tOwart
the end of the disease. An an
imal may have several attacks of
the trouble, but each succeed
ing attack seems to be more Sc
we're.
The blood becomes thin and the
circulation impaired, and fire.
quently there appears a swell
ing under the chest or abdomen
or an enlargement of one or
none legs. |
DiagnOsis.-It is quite easy to
recognize the trouble, especially
in the advanced stages. The
show progress at the beginning,
remttent fever, progressive ema-
or ravenOus appetite, staggering
citation and anemia, unimpaired
gait, and excessive urination are
usually all present to a greater
. or less degree.
PrOgnoiss-Is very unfavorable
death occurring in from 60 to
50 per cent of the eases. Recov-
cry takes place only when the
treatment is begun early and
when the disease is not too
acute. i
Treatment.-Is not satisfacto-
ry. Absolute rest until fully re-
covered is one of the primary
requisites, and purgatives are to
be avoided. For the fever the
B. A. i. recommends an antipy-
retic Of,qninine 40 grains, acct
anilid 2ldrams, and powdered I'LL /
vomica 3Oigrainsg four times dali
ly. COldlt@water sponge baths
and frequent eopiohsi rectal in
jectionS 96fGcoldl watef2 also aid
in reducing atfe fever. After alief
fever subsidies. ~ the folIo#fngnas
recommendeagittiteqed emit 9mq'
Arsehibus atia, ~ gransg p6wd
dered asna9y s64Rica Iw2Sl grams. /
powdered ciheh6HS.1 bark S. g1 r9aHfnfi.
powdered gtatiah loot a46 grams.
These should be well mixed
and one-half tablespoonful given,
at eacEI feed eoiItie aft ct4f ilanA'
imal ,AuII 3uItBAe 2Id dtIW 9lBVT