TUBERCULOSIS AND TUBERCULIN.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10960, 1 May 1907, Page 1 (Supplement)

TUBERCULOSIS AND TUBERCULIN.

THE REPUTED CURE.

SOME LIGHT' ON TUBERCULIN. -

According to the "Review of the River Plate," the Argentine. Government is to make' a new departure m regard to tuber*' culosis. Up to the present time the measures taken by the Argentine Government to control this disease consist oh'an ex^ amination of the carcase for food and the application' of the; tuberculin test .to irii^ ported; pedigree stock. This, test has resulted m the slaughter, of. many, valttablef animals at the .quarantine station, and m addition. to tliis the importers have had to pay premium, of 25 per cent, to effect, insurance against loss' from' the test. The; Argentine Gjovernment has now arrah'ged with.Dr Behring for a systematic application of his feipu ted cure for tubercjuldsis, and Dr Rbemer, one of lis assistants,; is going .to Buenos Ayres for one year to test liis cure upon animals, found .infected whilst m quarantine. The Argentine Government will prepare a tuberculosis hospital,, which will be under^the, sole control and direction of Dr Roemer; who will experiment upon a, portion of the animals that fail to pass the test ittthe qiiiirantine" station, tho remainder b^ing slaughtered as. at the present time. ; All animals' declared enfed ~by the doctor will be placed under tine disposal of* a committee, etc.. During the subsequent three .years after- the. cure lw» been declared effectedof. the cured fanimals are 'tobe slaughtered and fa post-mortem ■';■ mad^, while fahy that" fail to respond to the cuto' within six months are to be slaughtered forthwith. Tliis laudable, action on the part: of the Argentine Government is a further move m the direction of obtaining som c satisfactory treatment for tuberculosis) m cattle. Dr Belu-ing's "cure" has not fulfilled all expectations as' regards its application to human cases. As fin the case of Koch's tuberculin— which, though a failure as a curative agent m human tuber-" culosis, proved, to be a most valuable aid m diagnosis of the disease among the lower animals — it may be n means of curing farm stock of tuberculosis when the disr ease is not at too advanced a stage to render suiicessful treatment obviously impossible. It is open to question, however, whether the Argentine Goverrinient has not been somewhat unnecessarily stringent with its enforcement' of the regulations prohibiting the landing of animals which have reacted to the tuberculin test. It is a well-known fact that an animal will give ; a decided reaction to tuberculin when m only the earlier stages o'f' infection, and provided sufficient _redstant : pov(er fexists,; yeairi s may elapse before it becomes dangerous as a source from which infection may be distributed ; or it^may overcome the disease altogether. : From a practic'alpoint of view, it is unreasonable to destroy a valuable stud animal; under such circumstances if proper precautions as" to isblation, ©tc:, be taken, especially if the State possesses the necessary departmental machinery to enable the animal to be kept under official supervision. If such control exists it" can be ensured that no risk is incurred of the animal becoming a source for spreading infection, as if it develops well-marked outward symptoms the "State would be m a position to enforce its powet to destroy. ■