The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1914-07-31
Rabies and Dog Days.

The coming of the "dOg-days," es-
Decially if the season happens to
bring with it one or more prolonged
heated periods, attracts the atten-
ton of the public generally much
more to the danger of rabies than do
definite reports Of the spread Of the
disease at other seasons of the year,
which ought to arouse solicitude.
Boards of aldermen, city councils
and town officials of other kinds
wake up from the most absolute leth-
argy with regard to the disease at
this time, and, especially in the
smaller towns and country places,
pass ordinances and revive regula-
tiOns requiring dogs to be muzzled
while on the streets. This is all the
more amusing because the terp
|'dog-days' has no reference to dogs,
but is borrowed from the Romans,
who called Syrius, the brightest Of
the fixed stars, the dog-star. At one
time during the Roman epoch the
rising of this star conceded with the
rising of the sun in the latter part of
July. The twenty days preceding
and the twenty days following this
conjunction were for the Romans
dies CAMS, the days of the dog-or
the dog-star. Rome had its fercest
heats usually during this period;
therefore, the time was dreaded and
came to have the reputation of an
unhealthy season, though not with
any special reference to the dogs OF
Rome. In our day the popular mean
ing of the "dog-days" is that dogs
are especially likely to go mad at this
season. The consequence is that,
while the animals are made uncOm-
Portable by nose muzzling, their dis
comfort is greatly added to by the
from giving them water or caring
for them properly. Rabies may Oc-
cur at any season of the year; the
actual statistics show greater fire.
quency of the disease during the win
ter than during the summer months.
1t is most common in the early
spring, and March and April would
be a much better time to select for
'dog-days" in the popular sense than
the weeks of July and August that
have by misapprehension come to be
looked on as the special period of
danger.
The recent Seattle epidemic shows
how much of real danger there is
from this disease when it gains
foothold because of neglect of proper
precautions. Surgeon Lloyd of the
Public Health Service recently re-
ported that up to the beginning of
June there had been 361 cases of
canine rabies in the city of Seattle |
since the outbreak of the disease be- |
gan in September, 1918. Up to this |
the disease had not been observed |
in Seattle.
This is what may occur practically !
anywhere in this country if the in
frequency of the disease begets over !
and neglect. Although |
we disapprove the infection of unnec-
essar suffering on animals, says The |
Journal of the American Medical AS
ISOLATION, the popular dread of dogs |
during the misunderstood dog-days |
affords to physicians an educational
opportunity too good to be lost. This |
is the time when they may proitably |
emphasize the need for special pre-
cautions with regard to the spread OF
rabies. The problem of the control
of rabies is mainly the care of stray
animals and of those that have no
proper owner, but live more or less
on the bounty of the community.
Careful registration of animals and
the destruction of those for which no
one would assume responsibility to
the extent of paying a yearly license
would greatly limit the disease. The
problem is simpler in England, but
the success in practically obliterating
the disease for the last twenty years
in that country shows what can be
accomplished. We need intelligent,
persistent scientific interest to pre-
vent the spread of the disease and
not the annual attack of hysteria
that infiicts cruelty without accom-
plishing any good purpose.