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Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 58, 4 September 1939, Page 8

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elimination] from herds VETERINARIAN'S OPINION Interesting information on the eradication of tuberculosis in dairy herds was given by Mr Thompson, veterinary surgeon at the Rangitaiki Plains Dairy Co,, Ltd., when he Avas answering questipns from suppliers after he had presented his report to the annual meeting. Mr Thompson said that the only reliable way was to use the tuberculin test, but under the regulations in force in this country it was more as if the cows re. acted to -tuberculosis tUey must be slaughtered., At; Home a full-time stafT was engaged in examining herds and clinical cases could be removed from the herds and kept apart The regulations should be altered so that the farmer could .keep beasts which reacted but showed no outward symptoms of the disease, -until he could afford to replace them. He thought 'the herds here would be fairly clean but there was always the chance that if they started testing they might get a rude shock. The elimination of tuberculosis was essentially a slow' process. A supplier asked Mr Thompson, whether lie would advise the use of sterilised milk for feeding calves and pigs. Mr Thompson replied* that hewould not advise its use without the supplementary administration of cod liver oil or some other vitamin source; as *thc vitnmins were destroyed by the sterilising process. However, with a vitamin source like oil he would certainly recommend it.