Royal Society of New South Wales, Sydney : anniversary address / by T.P. Anderson Stuart.

  • Anderson Stuart, Thomas Peter, 1856-1920.
Date:
1894
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Royal Society of New South Wales, Sydney : anniversary address / by T.P. Anderson Stuart. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    found in the neighbourhood of Sydney and near the coast literally covered with them, and yet show not a symptom. On the other hand it is a common belief, which is I think, well founded, for I have collected a number of accounts by competent and trustworthy medical men who agree in their observations, that frequently grave symptoms often ending in death, result from the insect's bite. The train of symptoms in dogs which seems to summarise the observa- tions on about one hundred cases, according to the letters of my cor- respondents areas follows: Young animals are specially susceptible. There is first moping, hot-nose, and gradually advancing muscular weakness first noted in hind-limbs from the staggering gait, then in fore-limbs, neck and muscles of respiration. Probably owing to the last mainly is a great diminution of the animal's activity and alteration of its bark, which becomes rather a grufi cough. Obstinate constipation, troubles of micturition or retention. Epileptiform attacks or prolonged convulsions may usher in a fatal issue, or there may be no convulsive sign and death ensue from failure of heart, the pulse having been flickering, or from failure of respiration, there having perhaps been Cheyne-Stokes breathing. Peripheral nerve paralyses have been seen during convalescence— such as Bell's paralysis. The tick when filled with blood falls off and leaves a hard lump which does not disappear for two to three weeks. One attack confers immunity from the evil effects upon subsequent atacks, and in some districts where the ticks abound, dogs are regularly made immune by letting the tick remain till the first symptoms appear, which may be in a few hours, and then removing it. Upon complete recovery this is repeated one or two times. The second time the symptoms are longer in appearing than the first time, and are longer still the third time. After this the dog is protected.* There are apparently, different kinds of ticks, some comparatively harmless, some, such as the large bottle tick, a single one of which killed a dog of forty pounds weight, very venomous, the effects of the two sexes may differ * I have to acknowledge valuable information on this matter from various correspondents, and particularly Drs. H. A. Ellis and G. W. Taylor.