THE DANYSZ RABBIT EXPERIMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13399, 30 January 1907, Page 8

THE DANYSZ RABBIT EXPERIMENTS.

- I <■ The satisfactory, texture of the progress > report of the rabbit extermination experiments on Broughton Island, says the Sydney Morning Herald, is the fact that the I virus with which the rabbits have been inoculated is harmless to other animals.

This appears to have been demonstrated. It is quite, certain that if the disease were contagious to man all the island inhabitant* would have contracted it. So sure are the experimenters of human immunity from it that little pains are taken to prevent the suggested spread of the disease by flies. The latter are numerous at Broughton Island, and it is but a few feet from the rabbit post-mortem room to the dining-room. Dr. Danysz expressed the opinion that in plague or any other disease communicable to man experiment!; could not be carried on under the same conditions. As a fact, he said, when questioned upon that subject, not a resident of the settlement would be able to resist infection under the circumstances it plague were the disease being dealt- with. The doctor anticipates that the time will be fully occupied till October in working out the teste. He has to battle against different climatic conditions in Australia, aud then there is the variation in the Australian rabbit constitution to be considered. These questions make it necessary to continue feeling the way carefully that no mistake may be made when the moment of supreme action arrives. In that day the pastoralists will have to follow out implicit and explicit instructions, as the doctor cannot- visit every station in the State. He hopes, however, to reduce the question of rabbit extermination in Australia to an exact science, and in order to achieve that end a step only at a time is essential. Dr. Danysz' official report on the subject will shortly be submitted to the Government.