The Introduction of Disease Amongst Rabbits.

Evening Star, Issue 7410, 4 January 1888, Page 3

The Introduction of Disease Amongst Rabbits.

Dr Paterson, Colonial Surgeon of South Australia, has submitted a report to the C'uef Secretary of that Colony, which has been laid on the tabic of the House of Assembly there, relative to the danger to stock through the introduction of disease amongst rabbits. Dr Paterson, it appears, has conferred with Professor Watson on the subject of the disease which he proposes to introduce for the extermination of rabbitsfirst, in reference to the nature of the disease; second, with a view to expressing an opinion whether the disease was communicable to man, horses, sheep, cattle, and pigs. He states that ''rabbits experimented upon are confined within the precincts of the old powder magazine at the rear of the University Buildings. They occupy a small area of ground which is intersected with their burrows. A high will, with deep foundations, prevents any possibility of their escape either above or below the surface. I counted about eight rabbits in this enclosure, of which, judging by the color, two were wild, the remainder domesticated animals. Lying about were the dead bodies of a considerable number of young ones which had come to their full time, but were either stillborn or had died immediately after birth. This effect of the disease in checking fecundity should not be overlooked. One rabbit—a white one—was in an advanced stage of the disease ; it was inactive and emaciated, the fur was falling off its body in places, and the face, about the nose and eyes, was without hair and covered with a Bcurfy incrustation, The animal having been caught, and a pinch of fur removed from its body, the scurf adhering to the roots of the hair was separated and plaoed under the microscope, and the presence of an insect revealed, The parasite is the Sarcoptea cunkuli, Its existence denotes that the animal is affected with rabbit itoh, or rabbit scab." In rabbits itoh is not only a Virulent, but a fatal, disease. Every animal that has been exposed to the contagion, according to Professor Watson, has oaught it and died. As regards the oommunica> billty of the disease to man, hor»e, ox, mheep, or pig, Dr Paterson says 1 "As to man, as regards the human subjeot, there heed be little or no ground for apprehension. The skin and fur of infected animals as articles of commerce are valueless, and therefore would not behandled J the carcass Would be rejected fof food, or, if used, Would be innoxious, as the disease does not penetrate below the skin. Itch in man is a liUrable disease, and neither endangers life nor injures the health of the patient. Persons are known to have it from youth to old age without impairment of their general health. At the same time It is a disreputable and loathsome malady.— ' Sydney Morning Herald.'