NEW DISEASE IN SHEEP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume IV, Issue 1076, 26 April 1867, Page 3

NEW DISEASE IN SHEEP.

\Y 1: regret to learn that a very serious disease j is malting head amongst some of Jloeks about Auckland, which, as yet, hits defied the intelligence of surgical investigation. The sheep suffer evidently from pain in the head, which causes litem to batter their heads against any hard substance, until indeed they render themselves perfectly blind with-repeated bruises. They refuse food, and ultimately pine away till Ihev die. In the lloek of one gentleman some three or four diseased subjects have been killed and dissected by a medical man, but no cause of the disease has been discovered. The stomach, in every instance, we have been told, is perfectly healthy, but the livers and lungs are affected, and, in the ease of those which died of the disease, were quite rotten.

It was expected that as in the case of gruos in the brain, which disease has before, now caused sheep to knock their head about in the s;ime way, through excess of pain, it would be found that cntozoa of some kind had been the cause. IS T o trace of worm or grub has, howe\ er, been found'either in the brain or other organs of the head. As certain flocks only are at present afiected with this disease, it might afford, perhaps, some clue to its origin, if their owners were to mee and compare'the treatment whu-lt such nocks have received during the. past six or eig.tt months. It may he .jus! possible that the treatj,K'nt pursued iu the case ol one disease may hnve hc-en the cause of another, or. indeed, that anv particular treatment or feed may. have induced this disease. .By collecting evidence oi I his kind, the uiedical and scwntiiic men would bo much lacilitated.