JAUNDICE OF THE NEW-BORN. ICTERUS NOUVEAUX NÉS.
In mules; less frequently in horses and cattle. Bacteridian. Predisposition from alleged miscegeneration. Offspring of lymphatic mares. Spoiled fodders, foul buildings, exposure, infection by umbilicus. From gastro-enteritis, diarrhœa, dysentery. Congenital. Symptoms: refuses the teat, scours, red urine, palpitation, colics, perspirations, inflammations, or abscesses of navel, arthritis, other internal disorders. Death from exhaustion or in convulsions. Or symptoms subside and pass in 15 days. Diagnosis: prostration, palpitation, icterus, and bloody urine with omphalitis. Streptococci. Prognosis: with hæmaturia nine-tenths fatal. Lesions: icterus, heart soft, flabby, lungs congested, general ecchymosis, blood black, clot diffluent, liver congested, enlarged, spleen, swollen, softened with spots of brownish yellow, meconium bloodstained, kidneys swollen, congested, points of infarction or necrosis, urine bloody, navel lesions. Treatment: for congenital cases improve hygiene for dams; for offspring, antiseptics to navel, shelter, warm box; aloes to dam, or oil to colt, antiseptics internally, demulcents, stimulants, derivatives, opium, water, alkalies.
This has been observed in cattle (Kitt), and in horses (Levrier, Bernadin, Lhomme) but above all in mules (Villa-Roya, Carrere, Levriere, Bernadin, Lhomme, Hartmann, Dieckerhoff).
The affection is a bacteridian disease, in which there is a great destruction of red globules, and liberation of hæmatin, with hæmaturia and yellow coloration of the tissues.
Causes. Carrere attributes much to a supposed congenital weakness induced by the unnatural generation of ass with mare. Cadeac noticed that the offspring of certain mares and horses remained sound, while the progeny of the same animals, and asses suffered largely from icterus. Levrier found it especially in the mules born of mares having a lymphatic temperament or suffering from canker, grease or chronic lymphangiectasis. Bernadin and Lhomme attribute much to bad hygiene, and especially to poor or spoiled fodders. Lhomme, Lafosse and Trasbot find accessory causes in cold and wet weather. Retention of the meconium is another cause. Dieckerhoff, Hartmann, Cadeac and Bournay trace the disease to bacterial infection as the essential cause. Many cases originate in septic infection and inflammation of the navel and umbilical veins. Others commence with mucous gastro-enteritis, attended by diarrhœa or dysentery. In other cases the germs appear to have reached the liver through the circulation as the animal is already affected at birth.
Symptoms. When not congenital, symptoms are usually seen in the first few days of life, usually before the fifth day.
In congenital cases the new born animal is unable to stand at all or for longer than a very short time, it lies listlessly and makes no attempt to suck even when held up to the teat. There is acceleration of pulse and respiration, the heart beats are tumultuous, the mouth is dry, the mucosæ of a straw yellow, the bowels are costive, and the urine, whether discharged in life, or found in the bladder after death, is bloody.
When attacked later, the animal becomes dull, weak, and stupid, refuses the teat, and has the bowels relaxed. The mucosæ become pale yellow, the breathing accelerated, the heart beats violent, and the pulse rapid, small and weak. The urine is passed slowly and with effort and has a red hue more or less deep according to the severity of the attack. Colics are not uncommon, causing uneasy shifting of the limbs and tail, cries, frequent lying down and rising, and partial or general perspiration. Complications on the part of the navel and umbilical veins are to be looked for, in open sores, swellings, abscess, phlebitis, and in arthritis and secondary abscesses in different organs. Death may occur quietly, as from exhaustion, while in other cases it is preceded by convulsions.
In case of recovery, there is an improvement of the general symptoms, the heart and respirations become moderate, appetite is restored, the little animal sucking the teat, there are abundant, yellow, semi-solid defecations, the strength increases day by day, and convalescence may be fully established by the twelfth to the fifteenth day.
Diagnosis. This is mainly based on the extreme weakness and prostration, the violent heart action, the jaundiced hue of the mucous membranes, and the bloody urine. Confirmation may be sought in the presence of streptococci in the fresh urine, kidneys, liver and blood, and in the artificial cultures made from them. The presence of omphalitis is further significant.