BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS.

Waipa Post, Volume II, Issue 77, 16 January 1912, Page 4

BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS.

UNITED STATES FARMERS' BULLETIN. A recent bulletin issued by the United States Department of Agriculture deals with the history, nature, and symptoms of bovine tuberculosis, also how the disease spreads, how a herd is infected, the tuberculin test, and prevention and suppression.

"Tuberculosis," the bulletin states, "is a widespread disease affecting animals and also man. Human beings and cattle are its chief victims, but there is no kind of animal that will not take it. Hogs and chickens are quite often affected; horses, sheep, and goats being affected but seldom, however.

"The disease is contagious. It spreads from cow to cow in a herd until most of them are afiected. It is slow in developing, and may not become noticeable for months or even years. The tuberculin test, which can not do harm to the healthy cow, reveals the germ in a few hours, and always proves successful when in the hands of an experienced veterinarian." "The disease is common among hogs," the bulletin goes on. " The public abattoirs report that a serious percentage of hogs inspected is found to be tuberculous. The losses among cattle I and hogs are enormous, amount-

ing to millions of dollars annually." Turning to the infection of human beings with the tuberculosis germ through cattle, the bulletin says : "Milk is the staple food of infants and young children, and is usually taken in the raw state. If this milk is taken from a tuberculous cow it may contain millions of living tubercle germs. Young children fed on such milk, often contract the disease, and it is a frequent cause of death among them.

" Meat from tuberculous cattle is not so likely to convey the infection for several reasons. It does not so frequently contain the germs, cooking destroys those that may be present, and lastly, meat is not consumed by very young children." As to the spread of the disease, the bulletin says: " Sooner or later the tuberculous cows begins to give off the germs of the disease. The germs escape by the mouth and nose, the bowels, in the milk, and in discharges from the genital organs. When the germs are being given off in any of these ways, the disease is known as open tuberculosis." The bulletin concludes with: "Dark, dirty, crowded stables are favourable to tuberculosis. Under these conditions the disease spreads rapidly, and is only kept out with difficulty. " Clean, airy, well-lighted stables, on the other hand, are unfavourable to the development of the disease. If brought into such a stable it does not spread so rapidly and is not so difficult to get rid of as in the first case. "A well-built, sanitary stable need not be made of expensive material or of elaborate design, but should have plenty of light, air, and drainage. "Light is very important. Direct sunlight is a great destroyer of germ life. Tubercle bacilli soon die if exposed to sunlight. It is a disinfectant, always ready to work without cost."