SYMPTOMS

Te Ao Hou, October 1956, Page 53

SYMPTOMS The disease is chronic and usually develops slowly after months or years, but sometimes, due to the lowering of the animal's resistance, tuberculosis may become suddenly active and acute. A cow has often had the disease a long time before noticeable symptoms such as loss of condition, a dry, harsh, and usually hide-bound coat, sunken and dull eyes, and variable appetite appear. Coughing is a common symptom and breathing becomes more rapid and laboured. Tuberculosis of the udder cannot be diagnosed until it is well advanced. The affected udder may be greatly enlarged, very uneven, and the milk at first brownish and later thin, watery, and straw-coloured with yellowish flakes in it. The only accurate method of detecting animals affected with tuberculosis is by the tuberculin test. This test is given by veterinarians. As many Maori farmers are members of veterinary clubs, such tests should not be too difficult to arrange. Tuberculin is injected into the thickness of the skin just under the root of the tail.