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rinderpest or cattle plague, an acute and highly infectious viral disease of cattle, primarily in N Africa, SE Asia, and India. It less frequently affects other ruminants, such as sheep, goats, and wild game. After an incubation period of three to nine days, a wide variety of symptoms may appear, including fever, inflammation of the mucous membranes, particularly the intestines, discharges from the eyes and nose, dehydration, and skin eruptions on the back and flanks. Death comes after four to eight days. It has been controlled largely by destroying infected animals; immunization by vaccine is now available, but should be followed by a period of quarantine.
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