238 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



As a result of abortion, disagreeable complications may occur. 

 Animals that carry their calves to five months or more are frequently 

 afflicted with difficult parturition and assistance is often necessary 

 to deliver the calves. Milk fever seldom occurs after abortion but 

 has been observed in certain cases. Eetention of the afterbirth is 

 not unusual and if not properly treated it may result in inflammation 

 of the genital organs and even death of the animal. In some cases 

 inflammation of the udder, or what is commonly known as garget, 

 follows as a result. One of the worst complications in contagious 

 abortion is sterility and many otherwise valuable cows cease to breed. 

 This may be temporary or permanent. 



It is possible to prevent or exterminate this disagreeable disease, 

 yet it is necessary' to exercise care in doing so that is beyond the 

 ability' of the average breeder. One common mistake that is fre- 

 quently made is to sell animals that abort. Tins is locking up the 

 stable after the horse is stolen. It is considered better in most 

 cases to keep such animals and take advantage of the immunity that 

 has been produced. In small dairy herds it may not be the best 

 form of economy to spend the money and effort necessary in ex- 

 terminating tlie disease. In breeding herds it will prove the ruina- 

 tion of the business if it cannot be checked. One should exercise 

 extreme care in purchasing new animals. It is not advisable to 

 use the same bull on several herds. The animal that aborts should 

 be isolated and kept isolated so long as there is a discharge. This 

 may disappear in a week or may extend for a month or more. 

 Aborting animals should not be bred for about three months in 

 order to give the organisms that jiroduce the disease time to die un- 

 der normal conditions. The foetus should be disposed of in a 

 way that it cannot spread the infection; it may be covered with 

 fresli burned lime, chloride of lime, buried, boiled or burned, but 

 should not be allowed to remain on the pasture, in the barnyard or 

 any place accessible to cattle, other animals or man. The same is 

 true of the afterbirth. The vaginal discharge is equally as infectious. 

 For this reason it is best to keep the animal confined and not per- 

 mit her to travel over pasture fields or territory on which sus- 

 ceptible animals are allowed. During tlie first few days vaginal 

 douches are useful Various remedies may be used for this purpose. 

 One of the best is a one-half of one per cent, solution of lysol in 

 v>'arni water. It is prepared by adding two tablespoonsful of lysol 

 to five quarts of warm water. This amount should be administered 

 once daily from a vaginal douche or a fountain syringe for about 

 the first week rnul continued longer if any discliarge is observed. 

 The posterior parts of the cow should be kept clean with a solution 

 of the same strength. The droppings from the animal shoukl be 

 covered twice daily with fresh burned lime, chloride of lime, a 

 saturated solniion of bluestone, or some other good disinfectant. The 

 animal is considered fairly safe to be placed with the other animals 

 as i^oon as the discharge ceases. It is important to be certain that 

 the discharge has stoi>ped permanently. 



In a breeding herd where the disease has become established it 

 may be advisable to detect by laboratory examination, if possible, 

 those that are infected, and separate the infected from the non-in- 

 fected. Practically the only treatment in these cases is to keep tlie 

 two grouy)s se])arate and tieat any that abort as described above. 

 The heifers should be kept apart from the main herd and a special 

 bull kept for service for them. 



