Year: 1874

q.


Superintendent Of New York.


From Board of Health Report.


The means at present employed seem to
be imperfect, for several reasons. Our
municipal relations contemplate the de-
structiOn of large number of vagrant
dogs, whether hydrophobic or not, dur
ing the hot weather; and although this
plan removes a certain number of ami
mails liable to the disease, it is quite tenn
porary in its operation, and during the
remainder of the year leaves the commun-
nifty ungaurded. 1t thus creates false
sense Of security, and perhaps on that
account may even be injurious. More
efficient protection would probably be
afforded by some method which should
be in constant and regular operation
throughout the year, especially if based
upon reasonable knowledge of the dis
ease and its symptoms.


The principal danger of infection from
hydrophobia consists in the fact that
people in general do not know mad dog
when they see one. If they could do SO
they would be in no danger. But in
point of fact they mistake other affec-
tiOns, which are comparatively harmless,
for hydrophobia, but the disease itself
they do not recognize. The popular di-
agnOsis of hydrophobia rests mainly on
three erroneous ideas, viz. /: First, that a
mad dog is only TO be met with in hot
weather; second, that he is afraid of
water, and will not drink; and third,
that he is ferocious and aggressive. Neith-
er of these statements are true. Album
dant experience, derived from carefully
collected statistics, has shown that hydro
phobia in the dog occurs at least as fire.
quently in the winter and spring as in
the summer. The rabid dog is not afraid
of water, and will frequently drink when
he has the opportunity, and he is by no
means always aggressive or violent in the
early stages of the disease. The conse-
quence of this error is that, if people see
a dog in cool weather willing to drink,
and not particularly ferociOus in his
manner, they are not afraid to approach
or handle him and yet he may be capa-
BILE of inhicting fatal wound, or even
of communicating the disease by licking
an abraded spot on the hand of his
master.


Another frequent and serions mistake
is this: AS soon as a vagrant dog has
bitten anyone, the first impulse of the
bystanders is to kill him. But when this
has been done, the only possible means of
telling whether the animal was really
mad is lost, and several months must
elapse before the injured person can be
relieved of anxiety from this source. 1t
is evident that such dog should never
be killed at once, but should be secured
and kept under observation for few
days, till his symptoms are fully devel-
Oped. In the large majority of cases it
would turn out that the disease was not
hydrophobia. would respectfully sug-
gest that few concise directions, giving
the most important early symptoms of
hydrophobia in the dog, kept posted in
some conspicuous place in each police
station, would enable policemen to recog-
nize With considerable certainty all sus-
picious cases, and with their cooperation
might serve to remove much of the dan
ger which now exists. These directions
need not include complete scientific de-
scription of the malady, but only its
main features in the incipient form of
tho disease, with the precautions to be
adopted.


Such placard as the following would
probably answer the purpose:


81. A dog that is sick from any cause
should be watched, and treated carefully
until his recovery.


"2. A dog that is sick or restless is an
object of suspicion. This is the earliest
peculiar symptom of hydrophobia.


"3. A dog that is sick or restless, and
has depraved appetite, gnawing and
swallowing bits of cloth, wood, coal, brick,
mortar, or his own dung, is dangerous
animal. He should be at once chained
up and kept in confinement until his con-
dition be clearly asccrtained.


eff, in addition to any or all of the
foregoing symptoms, the dog has delusion
of the senses, appearing to see or hear i'm
aginary sights or sounds, trying to pass
through closed door, catching at flies in
the air when there are none, or searching
for something which does not exist, there
is great probability that he is or is be-
coming hydrophobic. He should be Sc
cured and confined without delay.


"5. In case any one is bitten by dog
whose condition is suspicious, the most
effective and beneficial mode of treatment
is to cauterize the wound at once with
stick of silver nitrate, commonly called
lunar caustic.' The stick of caustic
should be sharpened to pencil point, in
troduced quite to the bottom of the
wound, and held in contact with every
part of the wounded surface until it is
thoroughly cauterized and insensible.
This DESTROYS the virus by which the dis