Measures for Sanitary Police. Make it compulsory to report, under penalty for failure, all cases of strangles, or of horses with nasal discharge, or submaxillary swelling. Forbid removal from the stable, or secluded enclosure, of all horses, etc., suffering in this way or which have been pronounced by the official veterinarian to have strangles. Provide for exclusion of all other solipeds from such stables, or from contact or dangerous proximity to animals held in them, also from infected yards, parks, cars, boats, etc. Close public drinking troughs during an epizoötic; let each owner use his own bucket. Circumstances may demand closure of public feeding stables as well. Forbid, under penalty, sale, exposure or movement on any public highway or unfenced place of any infected (diseased or exposed) soliped. Enjoin certificate of sanitary conditions of stable and stud with each animal sold. Close dealers’ stables, or forbid any sale from them until all infection has ceased and the buildings have been thoroughly disinfected. Compel thorough disinfection of stables, yards, cars, boats and other public conveyances that may be open to reasonable suspicion of infection.
Immunization. An attack renders the subject immune, but this may be early overcome by marked change of location, and exposure to a virus of greater intensity or modified quality. Besides the crude and reckless Russian method already referred to, direct inoculation of the virulent products has been often resorted to from the time of Gohier onward, in the different countries of Europe. By selecting the matter from the abscesses or nasal discharge of a mild epizoötic, and preserving the inoculated subjects in clean, dry, pure aired stables, on nourishing diet, and under the best conditions of hygiene, a fair measure of immunity was conferred with absolutely no loss. The same as after casual cases, second attacks will sometimes be shown, but even in severe outbreaks, of a less violent type. The pus from the abscess, or the preceding exudate in the swelling may be simply rubbed on the nasal mucosa, or injected subcutem in another part of the body. In many cases there follows merely a local cellulitis, while in others the general infection leads to the nasal discharge, with or without the submaxillary abscess.
This method is open to the individual owner where no concerted effort is made to stamp out the infection. When, however, police measures for suppression are in force, it must be strictly prohibited, or adopted only under official control, and with absolute seclusion and thorough disinfection.
Treatment. In mild regular cases hygienic measures only are demanded. Cleanliness, dry stalls, pure air, warmth (a sunny exposure if available), nourishing, easily digested food, (grass, green corn stalks, bran mashes, roots, carrots, turnips, apples, potatoes, ensilage, scalded oats or hay) and pure water, or linseed tea, grooming and, in cold weather, blanketing may suffice. Rest is indispensable, though exercise may be allowed in a sheltered or sunny field or yard in fine weather.
Castrations and all other surgical operations are forbidden.
For costiveness or tardy action of the bowels 1, 2 or 3 ozs. of sulphate of soda may be allowed daily in the drinking water.
To soothe the inflamed air-passages it is well to steam them with the vapor of hot water to which has been added an antiseptic such as oil of tar, tar, phenic acid, or creolin. This may be placed in a bucket, and a bag with its bottom cut so as to form a tube drawn over the bucket and nose of the horse. It may be continued an hour or more at a time, or a nasal douche of creolin (1:100) may be employed. In case of tardy softening of the submaxillary swelling it may be assiduously fomented, or covered with a linseed meal or other poultice to which a little antiseptic (carbolic acid, creolin) has been added. It may be applied on a cotton hood having holes for eyes and ears and furnished with ends to tie back of the ears and down the middle of the face. If still indolent the swelling may be rubbed with soap liniment or smeared with soft soap, or finally a cantharides blister may be applied.
As soon as any indication of softening or fluctuation is detected a free incision should be made to allow the exit of the pus. This further tends to hasten the liquefaction and removal of the adjacent exudate. If the pus lies near to the surface, with little more than skin to penetrate, it may be freely incised with one thrust of the knife, but if there is intervening glandular or other tissue, the skin only should be first incised, and the connective tissue bored through with the finger nail, or the point of a sterilized director, or of closed scissors. In this way the important vessels, nerves and salivary ducts are pushed aside and troublesome bleeding and saliva fistula alike avoided.
Fever usually subsides on the opening of the abscess, but if it fails to do so, or if it reappears from slight absorption of septic matters it may be desirable to favor elimination by small doses of sodium bicarbonate, ammonium chloride, or potassium nitrate. In extreme cases a few doses of acetanilid may be given, or full doses of quinia.
When the discharge from nose or abscess threatens to persist, such agents as sulphur, yellow or black sulphide of antimony, are given with bitters, but a more prompt effect can usually be had from injections of weak solutions of creolin, cresyl, lysol, etc. When the cough is troublesome it may be quieted by belladonna, or, in case of weakness of the heart, by digitalis.