CONSUMPTION RARER.

Grey River Argus, 22 November 1927, Page 6

CONSUMPTION RARER.

WILL EVENTUALLY BE ENTfKX. LY ERADICATED. By the time our grandchildren r acn maahoed, tuberculosis will be as rare in Eng. and as leprosy is. About '9,000 children die from consumption every year in the United Kingdom. It cattle can be freed from the disease these .10,000 liv, s a year will be saved. These confident forecasts were made at the congress of the National Veterinary Medical Association at Torquay, wh, n the conviction that tuberculosis will be totally eradicated in time was freely expressed. Enormous sums arc being spent yearly in the building and upkeep of sanatoria, /hospitals and clinics for curing tuberculosis, said Major B. di ‘ Vine, superintendent of the Birmingham Veterinary Department, but these costly and belated measures < ould be remov’d if legislation provided rowers to deal with the disease in cattle in its early stages. If tuberculous cows were slaughtered before thj y reached the stage of secreting milk containing bacilli, most of the tuberculosis eases among children would be prevented.

Professor F. T. G. Hobday, new principal of the Royal Veterinary College, said: “About 10,000 children die in the Unit d Kingdom every year from tuberculosis. We have all had '• übcrculosis at one time,” he continued. “It is because of strong vitality t’nat w?e get rid of it.' The day of pulmonary tuberculosis is passing. But abdominal tuberculosis is gr. atly prevalent, particularly in children, and that always from infected milk. Therefore. it is correct to say that if the cattle could be freed from the disease, the lives of 10,000 children would be saved yearly. Two methods of treating the disease have been devised, and in my view' both will be the means of ridding this country of th * terrible scourge. Doctors must combine w’ith veterinary surgeons. Such a combination has taken place at the University of Lille between Dr. Cal—matte and Guerin, th,' veterinary. They ha\e used live vaccine on calves in an experimental herd, and it has proved wonderfuly successful. In Eng land, Dr. Nathan Raw’, from observations in Liverpool Infirmary, is carrying out a similar method with d ad vaccine. If the success of the experiments is continued, tuberculosis will soon be a thing of the past. Ant.’— tuberculosis injection is going to niakc it impossible for people to have the disease.” Asked his view of the experiments, Professor C. IL Wollridge said he agreed with Prof 'ssor Hobday that a great triumph for the doctors and veterinary surgeons working together seemed in store. “Until these experim 'nts have had a fair trial, it cannot be definitely proved that it is possible to prevent tuberculosis, but I believe Calmette mid Dr. Natran Raw haw' succeeded. What -will happen is that all calves will be inoculated soon after birth, and thus rendered immune from the disease. Older animals not free from tuberculosis will die in th. ‘ natural course of events, or be slaughtcrco. an I in their place herds of wholesome cows will come into being, for calves once inoculated tv ill not b' able to pass on the disease. That in itself will mean that no baby will ever drink milk from which there is a danger of infection. But more babies themselves '-w’ill rv treated with vaccine. It is a wonderful thought that by the time our grandchildren reach manho(>d tuberculosis will be as rare in England as leprosy is. Of course, this will not be possible unless some arrangement is made by wlrch the cattle ow’ners will not have to hear th<* whole of the loss when large num’ bers of tubercular cows are slaughtered.