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The treatment of follicular mange in the dog
ABSTRACTS AND REPORTS.
THE TREATMENT OF FOLLICULAR MANGE IN THE DOG. l M. GUINARD has recently made some experiments with the object of testing the parasiticidal power of creolin on the demodex folliculorum, and especially to ascertain whether it was possible by using lanoline as an excipient to cause the medicament to penetrate into the depth of the hair follicles, where the parasites are lodged. Lanoline appeared to offer advantages for this purpose, being a fatty body possessing great facility of absorption, and readily pene· trating into the tissues. In the course of January of the present year a dog suffering from follicular mange, which was spread over the entire body, was brought to the Lyons Veterinary College, and abandoned by its owner. This dog was used, not to test the efficacy of creolin,-for the advanced stage of the disease and the extreme feebleness of the patient did not permit any hope of cure-but to try to infect other animals, in order to be able to follow the disease from its outset, and treat it at any stage desired. The experimental transmission of follicular mange is by no means easy, and Martemucci, Rivolta, Weiss, Friedberger, Csokor, and others failed to transmit it, whether by transferring the pus containing the parasites to a healthy animal, or by means of cohabitation. M. Guinard, after having expressed some sanguinolent pus from the pustules of the above-mentioned mangy dog, and by microscopic examination ascertained that the parasites were present, diluted the pus with a little serum, and rubbed with this the face and nose of three dogs, which, moreover, were placed in the kennel of the dog already affected. One of the animals was a five-months-old puppy, and the other two were old dogs. Eight days after the commencement of the experiment the mangy dog died, and the three experimental animals were left in the same place. During the first twenty days the dogs showed no trace of mange, and it was concluded that the experiment had failed, but on the 23rd day, on examining very attentively the puppy, there was discovered on the sides of the face at the level of the commissure of the lips some denuded spots, which were red and prominent, and showed on their surface two more prominent papules. These papules when squeezed yielded a purulent and sanguinolent serosity, in which microscopic examination showed clearly the presence of the demodex. The two other dogs never showed anything, and were killed. Ten days after the appearance of the first spots on the puppy the disease began to spread over the whole body, and treatment was begun with creoIin ointment in which lanoline was the excipient. The mixture was made in the proportion of 5 of creolin to 100 of lanoline, and with this ointment vigorous friction was made over the diseased parts morning and night. This treatment, which was continued for 17 days, yielded complete satisfaction, the disease becoming arrested in all the parts rubbed, and the skin reassuming its healthy characters, save that the hairs were sparser than normal. The dog was kept in the kennel for two months after this result had been obtained, so as to ascertain whether a definite cure had been effected. However, two months and a half later some red spots were discovered on the paws, at the level of the elbow, and at the base of the neck. These regions had not been noticed to be affected at the outset of the experiment, and had not been rubbed with the ointment. By this time the dog had been made the subject of other experiments, and could not be longer kept to allow of the treatment being recommenced. A second experiment was made with another young dog, six months old. This animal was brought to the College to be treated for generalised follicular 1
Journal de 1tled. VeMrinaire et de Zootechnie, Nov. 1890.
ABSTRACTS AND REPORTS.
377
mange. On the day of its admission to the hospital it presented the following condition: the face, the neck, the entire under part of the thorax and a.bdomen, and the four legs were studded with the characteristic reddish spots of demodectic mange. Microscopic examination left no doubt on the subject. The condition of this animal was so grave that a favourable result of treatment was not expected at the outset. Nevertheless, treatment was employed, energetic friction with the before-described lanoline ointment being made morning and night, alternately on the anterior and posterior half of the a.nimal. At the middle of the day the dog had a bath in I 0/0 creolin emulsion. The regime of the animal was well looked after, and it was supplied with good food. Six days later there appeared to be slight improvement, but this was not very positive. On the eleventh day after treatment was begun, two new pustules on the face were detected, but the condition of the other regions was improved. On this day the animal seemed in its usual spirits, had an excellent appetite, and did not appear to suffer in any way from the treatment. Nevertheless, it was found dead in its kennel next morning, and no cause for its sudden death could be discovered. To prove that its death was not due to creolin poisoning through licking the ointment, a good teaspoonful of the preparation was administered daily to a small dog. The experiment was kept up for a month, and the dose was doubled during the last eleven -days, but no injurious effect on the dog's health was noticeable. Guinard's conclusions are: (I) That although it is difficult to experimentally transmit persistent follicular mange to dogs, one may in certain conditions succeed, particularly in the case of young do~s, which more readily contract it. (2) That by using such an excipient as lanoline, whose power of penetration into the tissues and facility of absorption are considerable, it is sometimes possible to reach the parasite in the hair follicles, and to hope for a successful result, especially when the disease is taken at the outset, before it is too generalised.
THE MIDLAND COUNTIES' VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATIO N. A meeting of the Association was held at the Bell Hotel, Derby, on Friday .afternoon, the 14th of November, when Mr F. W. Wragg, the president, {)ccupied the chair. BLACKLEG IN CALVES.
Mr Malcolm proposed the following resolution standing in his name: «That a committee be appointed to investigate and report on the efficacy of various preventives of Blackleg in Calves." He said, "In bringing this matter before you it may be desirable that I should explain what we really Jook for from this inquiry. In doing so I shall be as brief as possible, and shall not stand between you and the essayist of the day for more than a few minutes. Well then, in asking you to undertake this investigation we do not expect you to break up any new ground or undertake any new or original research; but what we do desire is that you shall test by practical experiment the efficacy of reputed preventives of blackleg, and report the result of these .experiments. Practically we might limit the reputed preventives to twosetoning, and inoculation-for although it is customary to give certain medicines and bleed in the name of prevention, no one really looked upon these latter methods as preventives, of course I do not say there might not be medicinal preventives, but so far none were known-at least I know [lone, and never met a veterinary surgeon who did. With reference to
THE TREATMENT OF FOLLICULAR MANGE IN THE DOG. l M. GUINARD has recently made some experiments with the object of testing the parasiticidal power of creolin on the demodex folliculorum, and especially to ascertain whether it was possible by using lanoline as an excipient to cause the medicament to penetrate into the depth of the hair follicles, where the parasites are lodged. Lanoline appeared to offer advantages for this purpose, being a fatty body possessing great facility of absorption, and readily pene· trating into the tissues. In the course of January of the present year a dog suffering from follicular mange, which was spread over the entire body, was brought to the Lyons Veterinary College, and abandoned by its owner. This dog was used, not to test the efficacy of creolin,-for the advanced stage of the disease and the extreme feebleness of the patient did not permit any hope of cure-but to try to infect other animals, in order to be able to follow the disease from its outset, and treat it at any stage desired. The experimental transmission of follicular mange is by no means easy, and Martemucci, Rivolta, Weiss, Friedberger, Csokor, and others failed to transmit it, whether by transferring the pus containing the parasites to a healthy animal, or by means of cohabitation. M. Guinard, after having expressed some sanguinolent pus from the pustules of the above-mentioned mangy dog, and by microscopic examination ascertained that the parasites were present, diluted the pus with a little serum, and rubbed with this the face and nose of three dogs, which, moreover, were placed in the kennel of the dog already affected. One of the animals was a five-months-old puppy, and the other two were old dogs. Eight days after the commencement of the experiment the mangy dog died, and the three experimental animals were left in the same place. During the first twenty days the dogs showed no trace of mange, and it was concluded that the experiment had failed, but on the 23rd day, on examining very attentively the puppy, there was discovered on the sides of the face at the level of the commissure of the lips some denuded spots, which were red and prominent, and showed on their surface two more prominent papules. These papules when squeezed yielded a purulent and sanguinolent serosity, in which microscopic examination showed clearly the presence of the demodex. The two other dogs never showed anything, and were killed. Ten days after the appearance of the first spots on the puppy the disease began to spread over the whole body, and treatment was begun with creoIin ointment in which lanoline was the excipient. The mixture was made in the proportion of 5 of creolin to 100 of lanoline, and with this ointment vigorous friction was made over the diseased parts morning and night. This treatment, which was continued for 17 days, yielded complete satisfaction, the disease becoming arrested in all the parts rubbed, and the skin reassuming its healthy characters, save that the hairs were sparser than normal. The dog was kept in the kennel for two months after this result had been obtained, so as to ascertain whether a definite cure had been effected. However, two months and a half later some red spots were discovered on the paws, at the level of the elbow, and at the base of the neck. These regions had not been noticed to be affected at the outset of the experiment, and had not been rubbed with the ointment. By this time the dog had been made the subject of other experiments, and could not be longer kept to allow of the treatment being recommenced. A second experiment was made with another young dog, six months old. This animal was brought to the College to be treated for generalised follicular 1
Journal de 1tled. VeMrinaire et de Zootechnie, Nov. 1890.
ABSTRACTS AND REPORTS.
377
mange. On the day of its admission to the hospital it presented the following condition: the face, the neck, the entire under part of the thorax and a.bdomen, and the four legs were studded with the characteristic reddish spots of demodectic mange. Microscopic examination left no doubt on the subject. The condition of this animal was so grave that a favourable result of treatment was not expected at the outset. Nevertheless, treatment was employed, energetic friction with the before-described lanoline ointment being made morning and night, alternately on the anterior and posterior half of the a.nimal. At the middle of the day the dog had a bath in I 0/0 creolin emulsion. The regime of the animal was well looked after, and it was supplied with good food. Six days later there appeared to be slight improvement, but this was not very positive. On the eleventh day after treatment was begun, two new pustules on the face were detected, but the condition of the other regions was improved. On this day the animal seemed in its usual spirits, had an excellent appetite, and did not appear to suffer in any way from the treatment. Nevertheless, it was found dead in its kennel next morning, and no cause for its sudden death could be discovered. To prove that its death was not due to creolin poisoning through licking the ointment, a good teaspoonful of the preparation was administered daily to a small dog. The experiment was kept up for a month, and the dose was doubled during the last eleven -days, but no injurious effect on the dog's health was noticeable. Guinard's conclusions are: (I) That although it is difficult to experimentally transmit persistent follicular mange to dogs, one may in certain conditions succeed, particularly in the case of young do~s, which more readily contract it. (2) That by using such an excipient as lanoline, whose power of penetration into the tissues and facility of absorption are considerable, it is sometimes possible to reach the parasite in the hair follicles, and to hope for a successful result, especially when the disease is taken at the outset, before it is too generalised.
THE MIDLAND COUNTIES' VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATIO N. A meeting of the Association was held at the Bell Hotel, Derby, on Friday .afternoon, the 14th of November, when Mr F. W. Wragg, the president, {)ccupied the chair. BLACKLEG IN CALVES.
Mr Malcolm proposed the following resolution standing in his name: «That a committee be appointed to investigate and report on the efficacy of various preventives of Blackleg in Calves." He said, "In bringing this matter before you it may be desirable that I should explain what we really Jook for from this inquiry. In doing so I shall be as brief as possible, and shall not stand between you and the essayist of the day for more than a few minutes. Well then, in asking you to undertake this investigation we do not expect you to break up any new ground or undertake any new or original research; but what we do desire is that you shall test by practical experiment the efficacy of reputed preventives of blackleg, and report the result of these .experiments. Practically we might limit the reputed preventives to twosetoning, and inoculation-for although it is customary to give certain medicines and bleed in the name of prevention, no one really looked upon these latter methods as preventives, of course I do not say there might not be medicinal preventives, but so far none were known-at least I know [lone, and never met a veterinary surgeon who did. With reference to