FIG. 15Fig. 15.—Larva of twisted stomach worm (Hæmonchus contortus) coiled on tip of grass blade. Enlarged.
Preventive treatment.—Preventive measures are important. As moisture favors the development of the embryos, high sloping ground is preferable for pastures. If low ground is used, it should be properly drained. The pasture should not be overstocked. Burning over the pasture will destroy most of the young worms on the grass and on the ground, and this means of disinfection under certain circumstances may be very advantageously used. The herd should be changed to fresh pasture as often as possible. Cattle should be supplied with water from wells, springs, or flowing streams, preferably in tanks or troughs raised above the ground. To a slight degree salt serves to protect cattle against infection with internal parasites, and plenty of it should therefore be kept accessible.
Affected animals should be isolated from the rest of the herd in hospital pens or pastures. A plentiful supply of nourishing feed is an important factor in enabling cattle to withstand the attacks of stomach worms and other intestinal parasites. The stabling of cattle, with the maintenance of clean and sanitary surroundings and liberal feeding, will often stop losses from internal parasites, even though no medicinal treatment is given.
Medicinal treatment.—In dosing animals for stomach worms it is advisable to treat not only the animals which are seriously affected, but the rest of the herd as well, since the parasites with which they are infested will remain as a source of reinfection to the others. The cattle should be removed to fresh pasture after treatment, if possible.
The animals to be treated should be deprived of feed for 12 to 16, or even 24, hours before they are dosed, and if the bluestone treatment is used should receive no water on the day they are dosed until several hours after dosing. In drenching, a long-necked bottle or a drenching tube may be used. In case the former is used the doseto be given may be first measured off, poured into the bottle, and the point marked on the outside with a file, so that subsequent doses may be measured in the bottle itself. A simple form of drenching tube (fig. 16) consists of a piece of rubber tubing about 3 feet long and one-half inch in diameter, with an ordinary tin funnel inserted in one end and a piece of brass or iron tubing 4 to 6 inches long, of suitable diameter, inserted in the other end. In use the metal tube is placed in the animal's mouth between the back teeth, and the dose is poured into the funnel, which is either held by an assistant or fastened to a post. The flow of liquid through the tube is controlled by pinching the rubber tubing near the point of union with the metal tube. It is important not to raise the animal's head too high on account of the danger of the dose entering the lungs. The nose should not be raised higher than the level of the eyes. The animal may be dosed either standing on all fours or lying on the side.
FIG. 16Fig. 16.—A drenching tube made from an ordinary tin funnel, a piece of rubber hose, and a piece of brass pipe.
The position on all fours is preferred by some authorities, who believe that more of the remedy is likely to reach the fourth stomach when the animal is dosed standing than when dosed in other positions.
Great care should be used in dosing to prevent the entrance of the liquid into the lungs, and in the preparation and administration of the remedy to avoid getting the solution too strong or the dose too large.
Bluestone, or copper sulphate, has been extensively used in South Africa in the treatment of sheep and cattle for stomach worms and is recommended by the colonial veterinary surgeon of the Cape Colony as the best and safest remedy. To prepare the solution take 1 pound (avoirdupois) of pure bluestone, powder it fine, and dissolve in 9½ gallons of warm water. It is better first to dissolve the bluestone in 2 or 3 quarts of boiling water, then add the remaining quantity of cold water, and mix thoroughly. This solution may be given to cattle in the following-sized doses:
Calves3½ to 4 fluid ounces.Yearlings6 fluid ounces.Two-year-olds and over12 to 16 fluid ounces.
In making up the solution only clear blue crystals of bluestone should be used. Bluestone with white patches or crusts should berejected. It is especially important that the bluestone and water be accurately weighed and measured, and that the size of the dose be graduated according to the age of the animal.
The special value of medicated salts advertised under various trade names as preventives against worms is problematical. Commonly they contain little else than ordinary salt, the other substances being in such small quantity that their therapeutic effect is practically negligible. Definite evidence that they are more efficacious than plain salt is not yet available and their use is not recommended.
FIG. 17Fig. 17.—Piece of lining of fourth stomach, showing cysts of the encysted stomach worm (Ostertagia ostertagi).
This parasite is as thick as a fine hair and less than half an inch in length. It lives in small cysts in the wall of the fourth stomach (fig. 17) and is also found free in the cavity of the stomach. When numerous, these parasites cause a thickening of the stomach wall and disturb its digestive functions. The symptoms caused by this parasite are very similar to those produced by the twisted stomach worm. The life history of the encysted stomach worm is not known in detail, but it is undoubtedly very much the same as that of the twisted stomach worm. The same measures as recommended above for preventing infection with the twisted stomach worm should be used. Medicinal treatment would seem to be of little use, owing to the protected position in which the parasite occurs.
FIG. 18Fig. 18.—A tapeworm (Moniezia planissima) which infests cattle.
Two species of tapeworms (fig. 18) are known to occur in the small intestine of American cattle. They sometimes grow to a length of several yards and to a breadth of three-fourths of an inch. Small portions of tapeworms, consisting of one or more segments, are occasionally seen in the droppings of infested cattle. The life history is not known, but the infectious stage is undoubtedly taken in with the feed or water, infection being spread by the eggs of the parasite contained in the feces of infested animals. The eggs are perhaps swallowed by some small creature (an insect, worm, or snail) which acts as an intermediate host, and which when accidentally swallowed by a cow while grazing or drinking carries with it into her stomach the infectious stage of the tapeworm.
Adult cattle do not seem to suffer much from infestation with tapeworms, but in calves these parasites may cause scouring and emaciation.
Treatment.—Medicinal treatment for tapeworms in cattle is usually unsatisfactory, but the bluestone treatment used for stomach worms and mentioned above (p. 522) sometimes expels tapeworms. Arsenic in doses of 1½ to 3 grains has been claimed to give good results in the treatment of calves for tapeworms. From results obtained at the Oklahoma Experiment Station in the treatment of tapeworms of sheep it would appear that the efficacy of the bluestone treatment against these parasites may be increased by the addition of tobacco. For use on cattle the bluestone and tobacco mixture may be prepared as follows: 13 ounces of snuff or powdered tobacco is soaked over night in about 8 gallons of water. To this decoction is added 1 pound of copper sulphate which has been dissolved in 2 or 3 quarts of boiling water. Sufficient water is then added to the mixture to make a total of 9½ gallons. The doses of this solution are the same as for the simple copper sulphate solution, described onpage 522, namely:
Calves3½ to 4fluid ounces.Yearlings6fluid ounces.Two-year-olds and over12 to 16fluid ounces.
A large roundworm (Ascaris vitulorum) measuring 6 to 12 inches in length, sometimes found in the intestines of cattle, especially calves, may cause inflammation and occasionally rupture of the intestine. Infection occurs through the swallowing of the eggs of theparasite in feed or water which has been contaminated with the feces of infested cattle.
A number of species of small roundworms, varying in size from an eighth of an inch to an inch or more in length, occur in the intestines. Of these may be mentioned the hookworm (Bunostomum phlebotomum) and the nodular worm (Œsophagostomum radiatum). The former is about an inch long and is found in the small intestine. The latter is somewhat smaller and is found in the cecum and large intestine. Hookworms, when numerous, may cause anemia and other symptoms similar to those caused by stomach worms (seep. 519). The injury to the mucous lining of the intestine from the bites of hookworms may cause severe inflammation, and affords an avenue of infection with the germs of various diseases. The adult nodular worms apparently do not attack the wall of the intestine, but derive their nourishment from the intestinal contents. Several species of small, very slender roundworms (Trichostrongylus), less than a quarter of an inch in length, sometimes occur in the small intestine and fourth stomach, and a severe gastroenteritis, or inflammation of the stomach and intestines, has been attributed to them. One species of small roundworm (Cooperia punctata) burrows in the wall of the small intestine and causes caseous nodules in the mucous lining. This parasite sometimes occurs in very large numbers in the intestines of cattle in certain sections of the country, and apparently does considerable damage.
Nodular diseaseof the intestine, due to young nodular worms which burrow in the intestinal wall during a certain stage in their life history, sometimes apparently produces serious effects, particularly in young cattle, but commonly has little or no perceptible influence on the general health. It, however, often renders the intestine unfit for use as sausage casings, and as it is widely prevalent among cattle the loss from this source is considerable. The greenish or yellowish nodules with cheesy contents are frequently mistaken by the inexperienced for lesions of tuberculosis.
The life histories of the various small roundworms occurring in the intestines of cattle, so far as they have been worked out, are very similar to that of the twisted stomach worm as described onpage 519.
Treatment for intestinal roundworms.—The preventive measures are similar to those recommended in the case of the twisted stomach worm (p. 521). Medical treatment is generally not very satisfactory. According to the Oklahoma Experiment Station, the addition of 1 per cent of tobacco to the bluestone solution used in the treatment of stomach worms in sheep is effective in the removal of hookworms. The bluestone and tobacco mixture described onpage 524may be of value in the treatment of hookworms in cattle. It is asserted byone author that 2 or 3 drams of rectified empyreumatic oil in a mucilaginous emulsion, followed the next morning with a purgative of 1 to 1½ pounds of sulphate of soda, will expel the large roundworms (Ascaris vitulorum).
A number of species of protozoa have been reported as parasites of the intestines of cattle. To one species has been attributed a serious disease of cattle in Switzerland known as red dysentery, but so far comparatively few cases of this disease have been recorded in America. It is probably more common than is generally supposed. Calves particularly seem most likely to be affected.
FIG. 19Fig. 19.—The common liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica).
Two species of flukes occurring in the liver and lungs are known to affect cattle in the United States. These parasites are flat, leaf-like worms; one of them, the common liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica, fig. 19), is less than an inch in length, while the other, the large American fluke (Fasciola magna, fig. 20), is considerably larger when full grown. In their life history these flukes depend on snails as intermediate hosts. At a certain stage of development the young flukes leave the snails, become encysted on stalks of grass (fig. 21), or fall into drinking water, and finally may be swallowed by cattle. Stiles writes as follows:
FIG. 20Fig. 20.—The large American fluke (Fasciola magna).
Flukes may produce a serious, often fatal, disease, more especially in younger animals. The symptoms are somewhat similar to those produced by worms in the stomach. The first symptoms are generally overlooked, the disease not attracting attention until the appetite is diminished; rumination becomes irregular, the animals become hidebound, and the coat dull and staring. The staring coat is due to the contraction of the muscles of the hair follicles. The visible mucous membranes become pale, eyes become dull, there is running at the eyes, and the animal gradually becomes emaciated. As the disease advances the milk supply is lessened, fever appears, there is generally great thirst, but the appetite almost ceases; edematous swellings appear on the belly, breast, etc.; diarrhea at first alternates with constipation, but finally becomes continuous. The disease lasts from two to five months, when the most extreme cases succumb.Most of the German cattle are said to be infested with liver flukes, but even when a large number are present the nourishment of the cattle is not disturbed. Thickening of the gall ducts, so that a so-called "Medusa's head" forms on the surface of the liver toward the stomach, appears in even well-nourished animals; even in cases of a cirrhosis of the liver it is seldom that any effect upon the cattle's health can be noticed, and so long as a portion of the liver tissue about twice the size of the fist remains intact, the nourishment of the animal may be comparatively good. It is rare that one sees ageneralized edema in slaughtered cattle as a result of fluke invasion, and even in the heaviest infections of young cattle only emaciation is noticed.Treatment.—Medicinal treatment is unsatisfactory. The disease may be prevented to a considerable extent by giving animals plenty of salt, and by introducing carp, frogs, and toads into infected districts; these animals destroy the young stages of the parasite and feed upon the snails which serve as intermediate hosts.
Flukes may produce a serious, often fatal, disease, more especially in younger animals. The symptoms are somewhat similar to those produced by worms in the stomach. The first symptoms are generally overlooked, the disease not attracting attention until the appetite is diminished; rumination becomes irregular, the animals become hidebound, and the coat dull and staring. The staring coat is due to the contraction of the muscles of the hair follicles. The visible mucous membranes become pale, eyes become dull, there is running at the eyes, and the animal gradually becomes emaciated. As the disease advances the milk supply is lessened, fever appears, there is generally great thirst, but the appetite almost ceases; edematous swellings appear on the belly, breast, etc.; diarrhea at first alternates with constipation, but finally becomes continuous. The disease lasts from two to five months, when the most extreme cases succumb.
Most of the German cattle are said to be infested with liver flukes, but even when a large number are present the nourishment of the cattle is not disturbed. Thickening of the gall ducts, so that a so-called "Medusa's head" forms on the surface of the liver toward the stomach, appears in even well-nourished animals; even in cases of a cirrhosis of the liver it is seldom that any effect upon the cattle's health can be noticed, and so long as a portion of the liver tissue about twice the size of the fist remains intact, the nourishment of the animal may be comparatively good. It is rare that one sees ageneralized edema in slaughtered cattle as a result of fluke invasion, and even in the heaviest infections of young cattle only emaciation is noticed.
Treatment.—Medicinal treatment is unsatisfactory. The disease may be prevented to a considerable extent by giving animals plenty of salt, and by introducing carp, frogs, and toads into infected districts; these animals destroy the young stages of the parasite and feed upon the snails which serve as intermediate hosts.
FIG. 21Fig. 21.—Portion of grass stalk bearing three encysted cercariæ of the common liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica). Enlarged.
The drainage of wet pastures and the avoidance of swampy lands for grazing purposes are important measures in the prevention of fluke diseases.
Railliet and others have recently recommended the application of lime to fluky pastures, having discovered that very weak solutions are destructive not only to fluke embryos but to snails. This application is to be made during the summer months at the rate of about 500 to 1,000 pounds of lime per acre. The same authors also recommend extract of male fern for the treatment of fluke disease. Moussu states that the average dose for cattle is 1 gram of the extract for each 10 kilograms of live weight; that is, 10 grams for a young animal weighing 100 kilograms (about 220 pounds) up to 50 grams as a maximum for large animals weighing 500 kilograms (about 1,100 pounds) or more. The extract is mixed with about 5 times as much non-purgative oil and the dose is administered each morning for five consecutive days two hours before the animal is allowed to feed after having been fasted over night. The extract of male fern used should have a guaranteed strength of 22 to 25 per cent of filicine and 3.5 per cent of filicic acid.
Three kinds of tapeworm cysts are found in the viscera of cattle. One of these (Multiceps multiceps, orCœnurus cerebralis) will be further referred to in the discussion of gid (p. 528). All these are the intermediate stages of tapeworms, which live when mature in the intestines of dogs, wolves, and other canines. The eggs of the tapeworms are scattered over the fields in the droppings of infested dogs or wolves, and when swallowed in food or water by cattle hatch outand the embryos migrate to the liver, mesentery, lungs, brain, or other organs, where they develop into cysts, variously known as hydatids, bladder worms, water balls, etc. When organs of cattle thus infested are eaten by dogs or wolves the cystic worms are also liable to be swallowed and then develop into mature tapeworms. To prevent cattle from infection with these parasites stray dogs, wolves, and coyotes should be killed wherever found, and dogs too valuable to kill should be kept free from tapeworms. As a precaution against infection with tapeworms, the viscera of cattle, sheep, or hogs should not be fed to dogs unless cooked.
FIG. 22Fig. 22.—Hydatids (Echinococcus granulosus) in portion of hog's liver.
Hydatids(Echinococcus granulosus) form tumors (fig. 22) of varying size (sometimes as large as 6 inches in diameter) in the liver, lungs, and other organs. Their contents are liquid, resembling water. The presence of these parasites can not be detected in the living animal and there is no medicinal treatment for them. Organs containing hydatids should be destroyed by burning in order to prevent their being eaten by dogs. This is especially important, as dogs infested with the tapeworm stage of this parasite are a menace to human beings on account of the danger of infecting them with hydatids, which develop in man if the eggs of the hydatid tapeworm are swallowed.
Thin-necked bladder worms(Tænia hydatigena, fig. 23) are most commonly found attached to the mesentery and omentum. There is no medicinal treatment.
Gid.—Bladder worms(Multiceps multiceps, orCœnurus cerebralis), which are occasionally found in the brain of cattle and cause gid,"turnsick," or "staggers," deserve mention, as they are rather common among sheep in the Northwest. As already alluded to, these worms are the intermediate stage of a tapeworm found in dogs, and their life history and the means of preventing infection have been briefly discussed above (see p. 527).
Cattle harboring this parasite show symptoms indicating an affection of the brain, walking or turning in circles, dizziness, uneven gait, impaired vision, etc.
Treatment consists in trephining the skull and removing the parasite, an operation which requires a skillful operator and is frequently unsuccessful. Unless the parasite is removed affected cattle almost invariably die.
FIG. 23Fig. 23.—Thin-necked bladder worm (Tænia hydatigena) from abdominal cavity of a steer.
Small tapeworm cysts (Tænia saginatæ), about the size of a pea, found in the muscles of cattle are the larvæ of the common tapeworm of man. Cattle become infected from feed or water which has been contaminated by the feces of persons harboring the adult tapeworms, and human beings in turn become infected by eating raw or rare beef infested with the larval stage (measly beef).
To prevent cattle from becoming infested with this parasite care should be taken that human feces are not placed where they will contaminate the feed or drinking water.
This parasite is very common in cattle in the United States, at least 1 per cent being infested. As a result considerable loss is entailed through condemnations of beef carcasses by meat inspectors, because of the presence of tapeworm cysts. All this loss could be avoided and the danger of tapeworm infestation in human beings from this source could be removed by the observance of proper precautions in disposing of human excreta. At the same time much sickness and many deaths from diseases (hookworm, typhoid fever, etc.) caused by soil pollution would be prevented, and farm life would be rendered much safer than under the poor sanitary conditions which are responsible for the high percentage of tapeworm cysts among cattle in the United States.
Thread worms (Setaria labiato-papillosa) 2 to 4 inches long are frequently found in the abdominal cavity. They seem to cause little or no trouble. The embryos produced by these worms enter theblood vessels. According to Noé, they are spread from one animal to another by stable flies (seep. 503), but this has not been definitely proved. The roundworms found occasionally in the anterior chamber of the eye (seep. 531) are perhaps immature forms of this species which have reached this location during their migration.
Lung worms (Dictyocaulus viviparus, fig. 24) in cattle are thread-like worms 2 to 4 inches long, found in the bronchial tubes and producing a condition known as verminous bronchitis. The life history of the parasite is not fully known, but infection is evidently derived through the medium of pastures where infested cattle have grazed. In the later stages of the disease the cattle cough, especially at night. Young cattle are more seriously affected than old animals.
Treatment for lung worms.—Various treatments have been advocated
FIG. 24Fig. 24.—Lung worm (Dictyocaulus viviparus) of cattle. Outlines showing natural size of male (above) and female.
for lung worms, including fumigating with different substances and injections of remedies into the trachea by means of a large hypodermic syringe or by a special spraying apparatus, but none have been very successful from a practical standpoint. About all that can be done is to feed affected animals well and protect them from exposure, removing them from the pasture and keeping them in dry yards or stables maintained in a cleanly, sanitary condition.
The methods of prevention in general are similar to those described under the discussion of the twisted stomach worm (p. 521).
Certain flukes (Schistosoma bovisand related species) which live in the blood vessels (the large veins) of cattle in tropical and sub-tropical countries cause bloody urine and diarrhea, the feces being mixed with blood. These parasites have not yet been discovered in the United States, although the natural conditions are such in some parts of the country that they are liable to become established if introduced.
The embryos ofSetaria labiato-papillosa(p. 529) which occur in the blood may be found by microscopical examination. They apparently cause no trouble.
The organism which causes Texas fever is a protozoan parasite (Piroplasma bigeminum) of microscopic size, which lives in the bloodand attacks the red blood corpuscles. For a discussion of this parasite and the disease which it produces seepage 476of this volume.
Other parasites which live in the blood cause serious diseases known as surra and nagana (p. 500), but as yet neither of these diseases has gained a foothold in the United States.
Small roundworms, one-third to four-fifths of an inch in length, may occur in the ducts of the lacrimal glands. Several species all belonging to the same genus (Thelazia) are known. They sometimes escape from their usual location and may be found on the surface of the eyeball beneath the lids, or even in the eyeball. It has been supposed by some writers that the worms seen in the interior of the eyeball ("snakes in the eye") are immature stages ofSetaria labiato-papillosa(seep. 529) which have gone astray from the normal course of their migration, but the correctness of this supposition is uncertain.
Worms in the eyes and lacrimal ducts may cause inflammation, in which case the eyes may be syringed with an antiseptic, such as a weak solution of coal-tar stock dip, and iodoform ointment applied if the condition is severe.
When worms are present in the eyeball itself, their removal depends upon surgical treatment, usually not advisable, as the worms in that location either cause but little trouble or disappear without treatment.
FOOTNOTES:[11]Further information may be found in a very full report on "Insects Affecting Domestic Animals," issued as Bulletin 5, new series, of the Bureau of Entomology of this department.[12]Further information on fly repellents may be found in Bulletin 131 of the Department of Agriculture.[13]For further information consult Farmers' Bulletin 1097.[14]For further information consult Circular 115 of the Bureau of Entomology.[15]For further information consult Farmers' Bulletin 857.[16]For further information see Farmers' Bulletin 909.[17]For a fuller discussion see Farmers' Bulletin 1017, issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.[18]For a more complete discussion consult Farmers' Bulletin 1057, Bulletins 130 and 152 of the Bureau of Animal Industry, and Bulletins 15 (technical series), 72, and 106 of the Bureau of Entomology, all issued by the United States Department of Agriculture.[19]For further information consult Bureau of Animal Industry Circular 214.
[11]Further information may be found in a very full report on "Insects Affecting Domestic Animals," issued as Bulletin 5, new series, of the Bureau of Entomology of this department.
[12]Further information on fly repellents may be found in Bulletin 131 of the Department of Agriculture.
[13]For further information consult Farmers' Bulletin 1097.
[14]For further information consult Circular 115 of the Bureau of Entomology.
[15]For further information consult Farmers' Bulletin 857.
[16]For further information see Farmers' Bulletin 909.
[17]For a fuller discussion see Farmers' Bulletin 1017, issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
[18]For a more complete discussion consult Farmers' Bulletin 1057, Bulletins 130 and 152 of the Bureau of Animal Industry, and Bulletins 15 (technical series), 72, and 106 of the Bureau of Entomology, all issued by the United States Department of Agriculture.
[19]For further information consult Bureau of Animal Industry Circular 214.
Numerous letters have been received by this bureau in recent years relative to the existence of a disease affecting the mouths and feet of cattle in certain Eastern and Central Western States. Later reports indicate that the malady has made its appearance in the Southwest, where it has caused much alarm among the stockmen owing to its similarity to the foot-and-mouth disease of Europe. The disease, which is to be discussed under the name of mycotic stomatitis, has been carefully investigated by this department on various occasions, and it is with the view of giving the results of these clinical investigations as well as to assert its noninfectiousness and to differentiate it from the virulent foot-and-mouth disease, which it so closely simulates, that this article is prepared.
The name stomatitis signifies that there is present in the affected animals an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the mouth. This inflammation, which quickly develops into ulcers, is one of the principal and most frequently observed lesions. Mycotic stomatitis refers to that form of stomatitis which results from eating food containing irritant fungi. Thus the name not only suggests the cause of the disease, but also indicates the location of the earliest and most prominent symptoms. Other names which have been applied to this disease by different writers are sporadic aphthæ; aphthous stomatitis; sore mouth of cattle; sore tongue; benign, simple, or noninfectious foot-and-mouth disease; mycotic aphthous stomatitis; and sporadic stomatitis aphthosa.
Mycotic stomatitis is a sporadic, or noninfectious, disease which affects cattle of all ages that are on pasture, but more especially milch cows. It is characterized by inflammation and ulceration of the mucous membrane of the mouth, producing salivation and inappetence, and secondarily affecting the feet, which become sore and swollen. Superficial erosions of the skin, particularly of the muzzleand of the teats and udders of cows, may also be present, with some elevation of temperature and emaciation.
This disease, as its name indicates, results from the eating of forage containing fungi or molds. It is probable that more than one fungus is involved in the production of this disease, but no particular species has been definitely proved to be the causative factor. Several attempts have been made by the writer to determine the exact cause and also to transmit the disease to other animals by direct inoculation, but with negative results. Suspicion, however, has been directed by various observers to the Uromyces and the red and black rusts that occur on clovers. These fungi cause very severe irritation of the lining membrane of the mouth, producing sometimes a catarrhal, at other times an aphthous, and occasionally an ulcerous stomatitis. The fungus of rape, etc. (Polydesmus excitiosus), is very irritating to the mouths and feet of cattle, causing severe inflammation and in some instances producing symptoms that have been mistaken for foot-and-mouth disease. The fungi (Penicillium and Puccinia) found on grasses have also been credited with the production of stomatitis. The fact that this disease disappears from a locality at a certain time and reappears at irregular intervals would suggest the probability that certain climatic conditions were essential for the propagation of the causative fungi, since it is well known that the malady becomes prevalent after a hot, dry period has been followed by rain, thus furnishing the requirements necessary for the luxuriant development of molds and fungi. Owing to this fact the disease is observed in one locality during one season and in an entirely different section another year, but reappears in the former center when favorable conditions prevail. In this way the affection has occurred at irregular intervals in certain sections of both the United States and Canada.
Among the first symptoms observed in mycotic stomatitis are inability to eat, suspension of rumination, frequent movements of the lips with the formation of froth on their margins, and in some cases a dribbling of saliva from the mouth. There is a desire to eat, and frequent attempts to take food are made, but prehension is very difficult. If, however, feed is placed on the back of the tongue, it is readily masticated and swallowed. If the mouth is examined at this time, it will be found red and hot, and exceptionally small blisters will be seen, which, however, quickly become eroded and develop into active ulcers varying in size from one-eighth to 1 inch in diameter. Where several ulcers have coalesced a large and irregularly indentedpatch is formed. These erosions are most frequently found on the gums around the incisor teeth, on the dental pad, inside the lips, and on the tip of the tongue, but they also occur on the cheeks, interdental space, and dorsum of the tongue. The ulcers have a hemorrhagic border, a depressed suppurating surface, and contain a brownish or yellowish colored débris, which is soon replaced by granulation tissue. As a result of this sloughing of the tissues and the retention of food in the mouth, a very offensive odor is exhaled. The muzzle becomes dry and parched in appearance, which condition is shortly followed by erosions and exfoliations of the superficial layer of the skin. Adherent brownish crusts and scabs form over the parts, and similar lesions are seen around the nostrils and external surface of the lips.
In some cases there are associated with these alterations a slight swelling and painfulness in the region of the pasterns, at times affecting the forefeet, at other times the hind feet, and occasionally all four feet. In a few cases the swelling may extend above the fetlock, but it has never been observed above the knee or hock. The skin around the coronet may occasionally become fissured and the thin skin in the cleft of the foot eroded and suppurated, but without the formation of vesicles. As a result of these feet lesions, the affected animal may assume a position with its back arched and the limbs propped under the body as in a case of founder, and will manifest much pain and lameness in walking. If it lies down, the animal shows reluctance in getting up, and although manifesting no inclination to move about, when forced to do so there is more or less stiffness and a tendency to kick or shake the foot as if to dislodge a foreign body from between the claws.
In some outbreaks the milch cows have slight superficial erosions on the teats which at times extend to the udder. The cracks in the skin are filled with serum and form brownish-colored scabs. The teats become tender and the milk secretion diminishes; in some cases it disappears. A similar tendency toward the formation of fissures and scabs on the skin of the neck and shoulders has manifested itself in a recent outbreak in Texas, and this feature was likewise noticeable in the disease when it occurred in Maryland and Virginia in 1889.
In mild cases only the mouth lesions may be observed, or these alterations may be associated with one or more of the other above-described symptoms, but in severe cases, where there is a generalized mycotic intoxication, one animal may show all these alterations. When the disease is well developed the general appearance of the animal is one of great lassitude, and it either stands off by itself with hind feet drawn under the body and its forefeet extended, or it assumes a recumbent position. Owing to the inability to eat and tothe general systemic disturbance present, the animal loses flesh very rapidly and becomes greatly emaciated in the latter stages of the disease. The temperature and pulse are somewhat increased, the former 2 or 3 degrees, the latter to from 75 to 90 beats per minute. The fever is not lasting, and these symptoms are soon modified. The animal has an anxious look, and in a few cases there is a gastrointestinal irritation, the feces being thin, of a dark color, and of an offensive odor.
Mycotic stomatitis is not a serious disease, and in uncomplicated cases recoveries soon follow the removal of the cause and the application of the indicated remedies. In such cases complete restoration may take place within one week. In mild outbreaks a large percentage of the animals will recover without treatment, but that the disease is fatal is shown by the fact that animals which develop an aggravated form of the affection succumb if not treated. In such animals death occurs in 6 or 8 days, but the mortality in the serious outbreaks thus far investigated has been less than 0.5 per cent. The course of this disease is irregular and runs from 7 to 15 days, the average case covering a period of about 10 days.
In examining a case of mycotic stomatitis it is important not to mistake it for foot-and-mouth disease, which has appeared in this country on six occasions only. This may be easily accomplished by taking into consideration the fact that in the contagious foot-and-mouth disease there is a rapid infection of the entire herd, as well as of any hogs and sheep that may be on the premises. It is also readily transmitted to neighboring herds by the spread of the infection from diseased animals, but it never occurs spontaneously. The characteristic lesion of foot-and-mouth disease is the appearance of vesicles containing serous fluid in the mouth and upon the udder, teats, heels, and coronary bands of the affected animals. Drooling is profuse, and there is a peculiar smacking sound made by sucking the affected lips.
Mycotic stomatitis occurs sporadically on widely separated farms, affecting only a few animals in each herd, and the lesions produced consist of erosions without the typical vesicular formations of foot-and-mouth disease. The failure of the vesicles, if any appear, to spread extensively in the mouth, the absence of these blisters on other portions of the body— notably the teats and udder, and characteristically the feet—together with the absence of infection in the herd, and the inability to transmit the disease to calves by inoculation, distinguish between this affection and foot-and-mouth disease. The erosions of the mouth are not so extensive and they heal more rapidly in mycotic stomatitis. The swelling of the feet and stiffness of the animal are also more marked in mycotic stomatitis.
The lesions resulting from ergotism may be differentiated from those of mycotic stomatitis by the lack of ulcerative eruptions in the mouth and by the location of the lesions at the tips of the ears, end of the tail, or upon the lower part of the legs, usually below the knees or hocks. The lesions of ergotism do not take the form of ulcers or festers, but the end of the limb affected is diseased "in toto" and the eruption extends entirely around the limbs, followed soon afterwards by a distinct line of demarcation between the healthy skin above and the diseased below. The absence of suppurating sores between the claws and on the mucous membrane of the mouth, the knowledge that the lesion upon the limb in question extends uninterruptedly around it, and the presence of ergotized seeds in the hay or grain fed the animals should point conclusively to a diagnosis of ergotism.
In foul foot, or ground itch, of cattle, the inflammation of the skin and toes usually affects but one foot. It begins as a superficial inflammation followed by sloughing, ulceration, and the formation of fistulous tracts which may involve the tendons, bones, and joints. The mouth remains unaffected, and the presence of the disease may be traced to filth and poor drainage.
In necrotic stomatitis (calf diphtheria) there is a formation of yellowish cheesy patches in the mouth without any lesions of the feet or udder. It affects sucking calves chiefly, and is caused by theBacillus necrophorus.
The treatment of mycotic stomatitis should consist in first removing the herd of cattle from the pasture in which they have been running. The affected animals should, if it is possible, be brought to the barn or corral and fed on soft, nutritious food, such as bran mashes, ground feed, and gruels. A bucket of clear, cool water should be kept constantly in the manger, so that the animal may drink or rinse the mouth at its pleasure; and it will be found beneficial to dissolve 2 heaping tablespoonfuls of borax or 1 tablespoonful of potassium chlorate in each of the first two buckets of watertaken during the day. If the animals are gentle enough to be handled, the mouth should be swabbed out daily with antiseptic washes, such as a 2 per cent solution of carbolic acid or a 1 per cent solution of compound solution of cresol or of permanganate of potassium, or 1 part of hydrogen peroxid to 2 parts of water. This should be followed by astringents, such as one-half tablespoonful of alum, borax, or chlorate of potassium placed on the tongue. Probably a more satisfactory method of administering the antiseptic treatment to a large number of animals would be to mix thoroughly 2 teaspoonfuls of pure carbolic acid every morning in a quart of bran mash and give to each affected animal for a period of five days. Range cattle may be more readily treated by the use of medicated salt placed in troughs accessible to the animals. This salt may be prepared by pouring 4 ounces of crude carbolic acid upon 12 quarts of ordinary barrel salt, after which they are thoroughly mixed. The lesions of the feet should be treated with a 2 per cent solution of carbolic acid, while the fissures and other lesions of the skin will be benefited by the application of carbolized vaseline or zinc ointment. If the animals are treated in this manner and carefully fed, the disease will rapidly disappear.