No. e. t>BPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURJE. 139 



The glanders situation of Philadelphia has improved somewhat, but there is 

 still more glanders in Philadelphia than in all ot the other sixty-six counties 

 combined. A very energetic effort is being made to control this disease in all 

 parts of the State and especially in Philadelphia, its chief seat. A careful 

 watch is being kept on all sale-stables, and horse markets in general, and 

 wherever a horse with glandeis is located or where tliere is reason to suspect 

 that there may be a horse afflicted with this disease, an immediate inspection 

 is made and a quarantine is established, if necessary, until the suspected ani- 

 mal has been examined to determine whether it is or is not afrlicted with glan- 

 ders. For this purpose the mallein test is relied on to a very great extent. If 

 there is a discharge of pus from a skin lesion, or from the nose, a sample of 

 pus is taken for examination in the laboratory. This examination consists in 

 guinea pig inoculation. 



The collection of samples of blood for use in the agglutination test is some- 

 times practiced. Results of this method of examination are referred to in the 

 report of the laboratory. 



There has been great improvement during the year in the matter of reporting 

 cases of glanders by owners and by veterinarians. Too much stress cannot be 

 laid on the importance of early reports in this as in all other dangerous infec- 

 tions of animals. Sometimes, an outbreak is not discovered until it has con- 

 tinued for so long as to have led, unnecessarily, to the infection of several 

 horses that might easily have been saved if the first appearance of the disease 

 had been reported. Instances of this kind are becoming rarer as a result of the 

 constant reminders that have been issued from this office. 



The unusual prevalence of glanders during the last two years has made it 

 necessary for the State Livestock Sanitary Board to incur more expense in the 

 control of this disease than has heretofore been necessary. This has exhausted 

 resources that might otherwise have been used in other directions, as in the 

 control of tuberculosis. There has, however, been no question as to the import- 

 ance or necessity of energetically opposing this disease. All experience shovvs 

 that if glandeis is not effectively controlled, its tendency is to continue to spread, 

 to the enormous detriment of liorse interests The situation is one that can be 

 controlled now at relatively moderate cost. If the resources of the State Live- 

 stock Sanitary Board were used in other directions, to the comparative neglect 

 of this condition, the spread of glanders would undoubtedly be such as to render 

 it necessary, in years to come, to expend sums of money to control glanders, so 

 great as to be out of all proportion to the amounts now required. While it is 

 unfortunate that some of the other work has to be restricted in order to effec- 

 tively meet this new condition (and also the condition arising from the occur- 

 rence of epizootic lymphangitis) there is, in my mind, no doubt as to the pro- 

 priety of the course that has been followed. 



The plan for handling this disease is, in general, the same as has heretofore 

 been described. 



HEMORRHAGIS SEPTICAEMIA. This disease has occurred during the 

 past year in the following named counties: Carbon, Centre, Jefferson, Mercer, 

 Potter and Warren. Forty-five cattle have been reported as having died inci- 

 dent to the small outbreaks of hemorrhagic septicaemia that have occurred in 

 these six counties. 



HOG CHOLERA. This disease has been reported during the past year in the 

 following named counties: Armstrong, Allegheny, Berks, Blair, Bucks, Carbon, 

 Centre, Chester. Clearfield, Cumberland, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, 

 Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mercer, Montgomery, 

 Northumberland, Sullivan, Washington e.nfl Westmoreland. Most of these out- 

 breaks have been small and have involved but one or a few herds in closely 

 limited districts. In only few* cases has the disease spread to more than six 

 or seven farms. In most instances it has been possible to trace the origin of in- 

 fection to hogs that have been shipped from a distance by railroad. In other 

 cases, it has not been possible to determine the origin of the infection. The quar- 

 antine measures that have been adopted, the isolation of the affected hogs, the 

 disinfection of the infected premises, have in most cases, sufficed to keep the 

 outbreaks within bounds. But while it has been possible to keep outbreaks 

 from spreading to many farms, the losses in some cases have been very heavy 

 on the farms involved. There is great need in the control of this disease for 

 a means of immunizing animals on infected or exposed farms. This problem 

 is one that the Bureau of Animal Industry has been working on for a number 

 of years, as noted in previous reports, and it is believed that this work is now 

 developed to such a point that its results will soon be available for the protec- 

 tion and benefit of hog raisers of the country through its application by State 

 veterinary sanitary services. ' 



MANGE OF HORSES. This disease has occurred during the past year in the 

 following named counties: Allegheny, Berks, Bradford, Bucks, Butler, Centre, 

 Chester, Delaw^are, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lebanon, Lycoming, Montgomery, 

 Monroe, Philadelphia, Somerset, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wayne and York. Not 

 many cases have occurred in any one county. The greatest prevalence has been 

 in Philadelphia and in Lackawanna counties. This disease has been traced to 

 horses brought from the West, just as glanders has been so widely distributed 



