The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1914-11-25
PRONOUNCE DIS
EASE INFECTIOUS
journal Of American Medical Associa
ton pre3ents Interesting Facts
About Foot and Mouth Disease
ERUPTION OF MOUTH AND FEET
immunity Produces 10y Attack Seems
Feeble, AS Animals Arc Said
TO Suffer Second Attack.

immunity Produced by Attack Seems
Feeble, AS Animals Arc Said
TO Suffer Second Attack.
| In Wow of the recent outbreak OF
foot and mouth disease III the MisSiS-
sipp valley. the most extensive as
yet IN the United States, an account
taken from The Journal OF the Amer
lean Medical Association. OF the prin
cipal features OF the disease may hc
OF interest II is an acute. highly in
fictitious disease. which occurs chiefly
in cattle, sheep, goats aud swine
though ether animals such as the
horse and doc, as well as certain Wild
animals are attacked also. aud ii may
affect human beings. In ANIMALS it is
characterized especially by an erup-
ton in the mouth and on the feet, III
some species more in the mouth, IL
others more on the feet. IN cattle the
incubation period averages from three
to FIVE DAYS, Whoreupnn moderate
fever with loss Of appetite and other
general symptoms sets in. In two or
three days small hlisiers appear on
fever usually aubsidcs. Al the same
time one or more feet may show ten
derness and swelling OF The skin. soon
blisters form here also, and the ami
nal goes lame Ia the mouth the
blisters may reach halt an ich or
more in diameter. but usually they are
smaller; the contents, at first clear,
become turbid, and as the covering
bursts. small painful raw spots are
produced which either heal quite
promptly or turn int ulcers that heal
more slowly Usually the milk is al
tered and reduced in quantity: bis
ers and ulcers may form OH the udder
There is marked loss OF weight, as
the animals do not eat because OF the
pain In this. the ordinary form. IN
which the death rate Is very small
except among the young. the Symp
toms fade away IN from ten to TWEEN
Iy days or so. except when local III
fections delay recovery. but there are
also severe forms with extensive i'll
lection which frequently end IN sud
den death. In such severe cases NJ
GERS are found in the stomach and III
testiues. In sheep and swine LESSONS
OF the feet predominant.
The cause of the disease is present
in the contents oi the yesiclos, the dis
charges from the ulcers, the saliva.
the milk. the urine and teCeS, bu, as
a rule not alter the tenth day. II IS
stated that animals having had The
disease may carry the virus for
months. Any susceptible species may
infect any other susceptible species.
Infection occurs not only through di-
rect contact, hut also indirectly. AZ
the virus retains its virulcnce for
some little time, at least outside the
body. Contamination of fodder, OF
stalls of feeding and drinking places,
of milk and milk products and OF the
hands and clothes Of droVers serves
to spread the diGease. which often
travels over vide stretches Of coun-
try with remarkable rapidity Us
shown by the present outbreak. As
from Is to 80 per cent of the cattle
exposed to injection may become sick
there results great loss from fall III
the production of milk. from rcduc-
ton OF vitality and lecundity. and
from deaths as well As on account OF
the measures adopted to stamp out
the disease.
The immunity produced by an at
tack seems to he feeble. as animals
are said to suffer sometimes more
than one attack within 9 short time.
So far no practical method Of pro
tectiye incubation has been dsyel-
oped
Our knowledge of the cause .cf foot
and mouth disease is limited to the
fact that II concerns iilterable virus.
as yet invisible and incultiyable. II
was in 1897 that Loeifler aud F'rnscli
made their classical experiment
showing that the disease is caused
by living virus that passes filters
which do not permit bacteria 10 30
through an experiment that has serr
ed as model tor all the subsequent
work on the many other tormg Of
lilterable virus recognized since then.
Foot and mouth virus may remain
active for months if Kept cool and
moist, but is destroyed rapidly hy
divine, bV heat 1T 60 g. (1in ~. and
above, by formaldehyde and by car
bolic acid The vide range al yiru-
jence OF this virus among animal
species has been Indicated. and as
stated. the disease may affect human
beings. especially children, being
transmitted hy milk from diseased
COWS teXperimehtally veritledI and by
butter aud cheese made from such
milk as wen rs through wounds aud
III other Ways While the course
usually in favorable. an epidemic de
scTbed by Siegel had q mortality nt
8 per cent The manifestations are
fever. digestive disturbances and
eruption on the lips and sometimes
on the skin. Where there is danger
OF contamination at the milk with the
foot and mouth virus. thorough pas
teurization al al milk and milk pro
duets is dcubiy indicated