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THE DISEASE KNOWN AS "STAGGERS" AMONG HORSES IN VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA.

Hon. NORMAN J. COLMAN,

Commissioner of Agriculture.

I

SIR: In accordance with your directions I visited the eastern part of this State and a portion of the State of North Carolina, to investigate the nature and cause of the disease called "blind staggers, which proved fatal to so many horses during the past summer. arrived in Suffolk, Nansemond County, Va., on the 2d of November, and upon inquiry I was informed that there had not been a case of "staggers" in that locality for at least six weeks, but it had prevailed in an extremely fatal form to an alarming extent during the summer and early fall. I learned that Dr. John T. Kilby had lost several horses, therefore I called upon him to get what information I could concerning the disease. Dr. Kilby was born in the town of Suffolk, and is a practicing physician of many years' experience. He said:

I have owned horses for over forty years; remember an outbreak of this disease in 1867; many horses died that year; I lost 2 horses myself. I think it is safe to say that over 100 horses died within a radius of 25 miles. There was another outbreak in 1876 or 1877, but it was not so fatal. I never knew it to be as fatal as this year. I am certain that over 200 horses have died within a radius of 25 miles. I lost 4 horses this year, 2 of which died in Suffolk, and the others died in the country. Of course there are isolated cases of it every year, but a very rainy season is always followed by a general outbreak of the disease. I have no idea of the cause; believe it to be due to some epidemic influence. It is rapidly fatal. Some animals die within six hours after first symptoms; others last as long as four days. I gave large doses of aloes, calomel, tartar emetic, and jalap, followed by half-pound doses of epsom salts and enemas, but could get no action from the bowels. The symptoms of the 2 that died here were somewhat different. The mare when first attacked became blind. She would stagger about, or press her head against any object, or lean her body against the stall or house. In the case of the colt, his hind parts would sway from side to side; would fall and could not arise without assistance; lost control of his hind parts, but had good use of his front legs until he got very weak. He fell three days after he showed the first symptoms, and was conscious up to within an hour of death; no signs of coma until an hour before he died. I was present when a man held a postmortem examination of the colt. He took out the brain, and it seemed to be all right, although I must say that I did not examine its structure-only looked at it superficially; did not examine the spinal cord. The left lung was very much congested. I fed corn, oats, bran, hay, and corn-fodder. I have no feed that was here during the prevalence of the disease. My hay was moldy. All my feed was raised in the vicinity, except the bran.

In the symptoms given by Dr. Kilby it will be seen that in the case of his mare the cerebral disturbance predominated, whilst in the case of the colt, from the symptoms furnished one would suppose the lesions almost entirely confined to the spinal cord. This being the case, it is not surprising that he saw nothing materially wrong with the brain, but I am certain that if the spinal cord had been properly examined sufficient evidence would have been discovered to H. Mis. 156-14

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