is seen to be failing. It stops
sucking, or, if older, altogether refuses to eat. The temperature at this
time may be from 104 deg. to 107 deg. F. The slobber becomes profuse, swallowing
very difficult, opening of the mouth quite painful, and a most offensive
odor is exhaled. The tongue is swollen and its motion greatly impaired.
Sometimes the mouth is kept open, permitting the tumefied tongue to
protrude. One or more of the above symptoms direct the attention to the
mouth as the seat of disease; or, having noticed the debility and
disinclination to eat, an examination of the animal may show a lump under
the neck or swelling of the throat or head. The following extract from a
letter is characteristic:
I noticed my calves beginning to fail about the first week in December, but
could not account for it, as they were getting plenty of grain and hay. My
attention was first attracted by a swelling under the neck of one of the
calves. I cast the animal and found that it was feed that had collected and
the animal couldn't swallow it. I removed it, and in so doing noticed a
large ulcer on the tongue and a very offensive odor. This was the first
knowledge I had of anything being wrong with the calves' mouths. They may
have been sick for some time before this.
Out of a herd of 100 belonging to this man, 70 were affected, and the
letter emphasizes the insidious character of the onset.
The general affection at this time manifests itself by dejectedness,
extreme weakness, and emaciation, constant lying down, with stiffness and
marked difficulty in standing.
The disease frequently extends to the nasal cavities, producing a thin,
yellowish, or greenish-yellow, sticky discharge which adheres closely to
the borders of the nostrils. Their edges also show caseous patches similar
to those in the mouth. Sometimes the nasal passage is obstructed by great
masses of the necrosed exudate, thus causing extreme difficulty in
breathing. When the caseous process involves the larynx and trachea there
result cough, wheezing, and dyspnea, together with a yellowish mucopurulent
expectoration.
When life is prolonged three or four weeks, caseous foci may be established
in the lung, giving rise to all the signs of a bronchopneumonia. Many of
these cases are associated with a fibrinous pleurisy. The invasion of the
gastrointestinal tract is announced by diarrheal symptoms. This disease
principally attacks sucklings not more than 6 weeks of age, bu
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