ABORTION IN COWS.

Northland Age, Volume 16, Issue 35, 22 May 1919, Page 7

ABORTION IN COWS.

THE following resolution was carried at a recent meeting of the Farmers’ Union held at KohuKohu: “ That as contagious abortion is becoming a serious disease in this district this meeting considers that all owners of cattle contracting the disease shall notify the district health officer.”

Considerable discussion took place as to cures for this disease. Dr. Smith statqd that he considered it a very bad thing that washes and drenches were sold as being safeguards against this disease. Many a farmer thought that if he bought an animal and took the precaution to use some of the remedies recommended by the Stock Department his beast would be immune. Such was not the case and the so-called remedy often aggravated the disease. Under such conditions the herds were quickly becoming contaminated. It seems that in England the same trouble has arisen. The British Royal Agricultural Society goes so far as to say that probably this disease is “ the cause of greater loss to the breeders of cattle than any other disease in Great Britain.” The Society’s consulting vetinary surgeon, Sir John McFadyean, states definitely that at present there is no known method of treatment which has any influence on the course of the disease in an infected animal. This would seem to do away with the so-called cures. Unfortunately also, there is no common means of diagnosing the disease although Sir John McFadyean states that what is known as agglutination is a reliable test. He particularly

points out that a very grave mistake is made ia attributing abortion cases to accident. It is rarely the case, but is mostly due to the presence of the disease, and the infected animal should be isolated. On the face of the findings of the Society it would seem that the Farmers’ Union are on the right track and that if the disease is made notifiable the dishonest breeder will be prevented from selling infected animals and the careless farmer from having his herd infected because he thought he had done all that was necessary in drenching his beasts or administrating drugs. (Hokianga Times.)