Plague-Like Diseases of Animals

Plague-Like Diseases of Animals 

a group of infectious diseases characterized by an acute course, a variety of symptoms, and high mortality (70–100 percent). The diseases included in the group (see Table 1) differ from one another in etiology, economic impact, and other aspects.

Viruses are the causative agents of most of the plague-like diseases of animals. However, camel plague and furunculosis are caused by bacteria, and crab plague is caused by a pathogenic fungus. The etiology of pike and whitefish plague has not been

Table 1. Some plague-like diseases of animals
Disease	Animals affected	Principal symptoms	Distribution
Rinderpest (or cattle plague)	Cattle, zebus, buffalo, sheep, goats, camels, antelopes, swine	Fever, erosions and ulcers on the buccal mucosa, conjunctivitis, rhinitis, vaginitis miscarriages, diarrhea	Africa, Middle East; eradicated in the USSR
Classical fever (or hog cholera)	Swine	Fever, prostration, digestive disorders, conjunctivitis, petechial hemorrhages	Asia, America, Africa; isolated cases in the USSR
African swine fever	Swine	Fever, prostration, vomiting, convulsions, paralysis, cyanosis, hemorrhages	Africa, Spain, Portugal
African horse sickness	Horses, mules, asses, zebras; occasionally dogs	Fever, weakness, tremors, conjunctivitis, cough, cyanosis of the mucosa	Africa, Middle East
Fowl cholera	Chickens, guinea fowl, pheasants, peacocks	Fever, conjunctivitis, cyanosis of the comb and wattle, convulsions, paralysis	North Africa; sporadically in Europe, including the USSR
Newcastle disease	Chickens, guinea fowl, turkeys, pheasants, peacocks	Fever, diarrhea, discharges fromthe nose, and mouth, cough, paresis, paralysis	All countries
Anatipestifer infection	Ducks, less commonly geese and swans	Drowsiness, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, loss of appetite, thirst, diarrhea, inflammation of the cloaca, neurological disorders	Europe, including the USSR
Distemper	Dogs, foxes,arctic foxes, raccoons, mink, polecats, sables, jackals, wolves, cats	Fever, listlessness, loss of appetite, rhinitis, cough, conjunctivitis, vomiting, diarrhea, thirst, skin rash, pneumonia, convulsions, paralysis	Widely distributed in all countries
Camel plague	Camels, rodents, also humans	Fever, prostration, loss of appetite and rumination, miscarriages, cough, enlargement of superficial lymph nodes	Asia, Africa, America, southeastern USSR (natural reservoirs of rodent plague)
Pike plague	Pikes, rarely roach, European pike, burbot, European bream	Hemorrhagic inflammation of the buccal mucosa and gills, skin and scales, necroses, ulcers	Europe; a few cases in the USSR
Furunculosis	Salmon	Ulcerative lesions of the skin and scales, necrosis of fins	Great Britain
Whitefish plague	Whitefish (cisco and others)	Inflammation of muscles, destruction of skin and scales	Europe; a few cases in the USSR
Crab plague	Crabs	Walking on outstretched legs, convulsions	Europe, Baltic region of the USSR (several natural reservoirs)

determined, but the epizootological characteristics of these diseases suggest that they are plague-like diseases.

Plague-like diseases usually occur in epizootics affecting large numbers of animals. They occur throughout the year, strike animals of all ages, and are transmitted by food or through the air (African swine fever and camel plague are also transmissible diseases). The incubation period is brief, averaging three to 12 days; the course is acute, and the animals die soon after onset. Methods of laboratory diagnosis have been developed for almost all of the diseases. Rinderpest (or cattle plague), African swine fever, classical swine fever (or hog cholera), African horse sickness, fowl cholera, and Newcastle disease are highly contagious; control measures include mandatory notification of any outbreak of any one of these diseases, quarantine, and the slaughter of the diseased animals and the burning of the carcasses. If outbreaks of other plague-like diseases occur on a farm, restrictive measures are instituted, the diseased animals are isolated, and disinfection is carried out. Specific preventive agents (vaccines) have been developed for most of the diseases.

REFERENCES

Bolezniptits, 2nd ed. Moscow, 1971.
Maloizvestnye zaraznye bolezni zhivotnykh [Sb. st.], 2nd ed. Moscow, 1973.
Shcherbina, A. K. Bolezni ryb, 2nd ed. Kiev, 1973.
Epizootologiia. Edited by R. F. Sosov. Moscow, 1974.
Infektsionnye i invazionnye bolezni loshadei. Moscow, 1976.

I. A. BAKULOV