Chapter 63

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 indented patch 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 dÈbris, 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 to the 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.

PROGNOSIS AND MORTALITY.

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.

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS.

FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE.

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.

ERGOTISM.

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.

FOUL FOOT.

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.

NECROTIC STOMATITIS.

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 the _Bacillus necrophorus._

TREATMENT.

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 water taken 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.

INDEX.

Abdomen-- dropsy affecting, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 47 inflammation, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 224 of calf, dropsy, description, and treatment, 180 wounds, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 43

Abdominal cavity, kinds of parasites affecting, 529

Abortion-- contagious-- description and causes, 165 treatment and prevention, 170 noncontagious-- causes, 165 treatment, 170

Abscess-- bacteria causing, 237 ear treatment, 355 lung, description, 99 navel, cause and treatment, 249 orbital and periorbital, symptoms and treatment, 352

Abscesses-- danger in castration of cattle, 300 treatment, 295

Absorbents, description, 75

_Achorion schonleinii_, fungus causing _Tinea favosa_, 332

Acids-- mineral, poisoning, description and treatment, 54 poisoning, description and treatment, 54 vegetable, poisonous, description and treatment, 61

Aconite poisoning, description and treatment, 63

Actinomycosis-- description and symptoms, 440-449 jawbone, description and treatment, 442 lungs, 442 prevention and treatment, 445-446 relation to public health, 447

Adenoma, description, 310

Administration of medicines, chapter by Leonard Pearson, 7-11

Afterbirth, retention, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 220

Air tubes, lung, parasites affecting, description and treatment, 530

Air under the skin, description, symptoms, and treatment, 334

Albumin, urine, description and treatment, 121

Albuminuria, description and treatment, 121

Alkalies, poisoning, description and treatment, 59

Amaurosis, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 348

Anaphrodisia, cause, prevention, and treatment, 149

Anasarca of the skin, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 330

Anesthesia, uses in operations, 289

Aneurism, description, 85

Angioma tumor, description, 310

Animal Industry Bureau, experiments against hemorrhagic septicemia, 401

Animal parasites of cattle, chapter by B. H. Ranson, 502-531

Animal products, poisonous, description and treatment, 71

Anthrax-- cause, symptoms, treatment, etc., 449-458 human, description, 458 serum, relation to blackleg, 458 symptomatic, description, cause, treatment, etc., 449-458 treatment by use of serum, 455

Aphtha, calf, description and treatment, 263

Aphtha parasite (_Saccharomyces albicans_), cause, 263

Aphthous fever. _See_ Foot-and-mouth disease.

Aphthous stomatitis, reference, 532

Apoplexy-- cerebral, description and treatment, 106 parturient, description, symptoms, and treatment, 226

Appetite-- depraved, description, causes and treatment, 28 Loss, symptom of foot-and-mouth disease, 383

Aqueous humor of eye, description, 341

Argentina, foot-and-mouth disease, 386

Arsenic poisoning, description, symptoms, and treatment, 54

Arsenical dips-- for destroying cattle ticks, 488 use against screw worms, 507

Arsenical vapor, danger of inhalation in making cattle dip, 489

Arteries-- and veins, wounds, description and treatment, 83 obstruction, description and treatment, 85

_Ascaris vitulorum_, intestinal roundworm, description and treatment, 524

Ascites-- causes, symptoms, and treatment, 47 description and treatment, 180

Asepsis in surgical operations, 289

Aseptic periostitis, description and treatment, 266

Asphyxia electrica, symptoms and treatment, 111

Atkinson, V. T.-- chapter on "Bones: Diseases and accidents", 264-288 chapter on "Poison and poisoning", 51-70

Atrophy, description, 81

Auscultation, definition, 91

Austria-Hungary, foot-and-mouth disease, 386

_Bacillus_-- _cyanogenes_, causing blue milk, 242 _tuberculosis_, (_Mycobacterium tuberculosis_, new terminology) causing tuberculosis, 407

Back, sprain, causes and treatment, 270

Bacteria-- causing abscess, 237 definition, 360

_Bacterium bovisepticum_, causing hemorrhagic septicemia, 397

Balkan countries, foot-and-mouth disease, 386

Ball-- eye, description, 340 hair, in stomach, description, 29

Balls, use in administering medicines, 8

Bee stings, description and treatment, 71

Beef measles, discussion and management, 529

Belgium, foot-and-mouth disease, 386

Benign tumors, description, 306

Big jaw. _See_ Actinomycosis.

Black quarter. _See_ Blackleg.

Blackleg-- description, cause and treatment, 459, 464 serum, relation to anthrax, 458 vaccine, note on distribution by Animal Industry Bureau, 463

Bladder-- eversion, description, and treatment, 218 or rectum, full, as obstruction to parturition, 178 palsy of neck, cause and treatment, 130 paralysis, causes and treatment, 128 rupture, symptoms, 218 spasms, description and treatment, 128 stone, symptoms and treatment, 142

Bladder worms-- affecting brain, description and treatment, 528 thin-necked, description and treatment, 528

Bleeding-- description and treatment, 83 lungs, description and treatment, 99 navel, cause and treatment, 248 nose, cause and treatment, 93 womb, description, symptoms, and treatment, 214

Blisters, water, symptoms and treatment, 328

Bloating, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 22

Blood-- clots on walls of vagina, description and treatment, 220 coagulated, under vaginal walls after calving, treatment, 179 description and influence of food on, 75 flukes (_Schistosoma bovis_), note, 526 parasites affecting, different kinds, 526 protozoa affecting, 510-536 vessels-- functions, 73 heart, lymphatics, diseases, chapter by W. H. Harbaugh, 73-86

Bloodsuckers affecting cattle, description and treatment, 519

Bloody milk, cause and treatment, 241

Bloody urine-- caused by blood flukes, 526 description, symptoms, and treatment, 119

Blue disease, cause, 253

Blue lice (_HÊmatopinus eurysternus_ and _H. vitali_), description, 512

Blue milk, cause and treatment, 242

Boils, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 328

Bones-- broken, description of kinds and treatment, 271-282 diseases and accidents, chapter by V. T. Atkinson, 264-288 dislocations, description and treatment, 282 face, fracture, description, and treatment, 277 luxations, description and treatment, 282 manner of nourishment, 264 number and description, 264 shape, classes, 265

Bony tumor, description and treatment, 314

_Boophilus annulatus_, Texas fever tick. _See Margaropus annulatus._

Bots affecting cattle, description and treatment, 507

Bovine tuberculosis and the public health, 429

Bowel hernia, description and treatment, 39

Bowels-- diseases affecting, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 34-43 obstruction resulting from invagination, symptoms and treatment, 35 twisting and knotting, symptoms, post-mortem appearance, and treatment, 35

Brain-- and its membranes, inflammation, causes, symptoms, and treatment, 103 bladder worms affecting, treatment, 527 _C[oe]nurus cerebralis_ _(Multiceps multiceps)_ affecting, treatment, 527 concussion, cause, symptoms, and treatment, 107 congestion, description and treatment, 106 description, 101 tumors, description, 112

Brazil, foot-and-mouth disease, 386

Breach-- navel, symptoms and treatment, 252 uterus, cause and treatment, 162

Breathing, suspended in young calves, discussion, 247

Bronchial tubes, parasites affecting, 530

Bronchitis-- description, symptoms, and treatment, 94 verminous-- description, symptoms, treatment, and prevention, 100 parasite (_Strongylus micrurus_), cause, 100

Brush, report of foot-and-mouth disease in man, 394

Buffalo gnats, description and remedy, 505

Bull, ringing, method, 291

Bulls, susceptibility to sarcoptic mange, 517

Burns and scalds, causes and treatment, 333

Calculi-- classification, 137 forms in different situations, 138 in prepuce or sheath, treatment, 144 renal, description and treatment, 139 urethral, description and treatment, 139 urinary-- classification, 137 description and causes, 130 effect of different feeds, 131

Calculus-- blocking teats, treatment, 243 prevention, 141 vesical or urethral, symptoms and treatment, 142