MICHIGAxN LIVE STOCK IN 1899 411 



-can, with the assistance of local health officers, and by means of special 

 proclamation swine plague bulletins, reach the afflicted farmers in time 

 to save a portion, if not all their swine, many thousand dollars' worth of 

 swine may be saved that would otherwise be irretrievably lost to the 

 farmers of Michigan. 



The Seventh Biennial Report, also a copy of the Live Stock Sanitary 

 Laws, will be mailed to any interested owner of live stock, upon applica- 

 tion to the president or secretary. The commission consists of J. H. 

 Brown, president, Battle Creek; C. A. Tyler, secretary, Nottawa, and H. 

 H. Hinds, Stanton. G. W. Dunphy, V. S., Quincy, is State Veterinarian. 



The following concerning tuberculosis, from our last report, may be 

 of interest to many farmers, being a brief description of this disease and 

 Ihe operation of the tuberculin test, as furnished by the writer: 



TUBERCULOSIS. 



Since the Sixth Biennial Report w^as issued, this commission has applied 

 the tuberculin test to nearly 1,000 head of cattle, a goodly proportion 

 being milch cows. In fact, a larger number of cattle have been tested 

 for tuberculosis during the last two years than had previously been 

 tested since the tuberculin test was adopted by the commission. 



The tuberculin test is applied only when suspicion is directed toward, 

 or complaint made of. either a single animal or an entire herd. The rec- 

 ords of tests made show but a small per cent of infected animals, and 

 when we consider the fact that only suspicious herds are tested, we feel 

 safe in estimating that less than two per cent of the cattle in Michigan 

 are affected with tuberculosis. 



In following the plan of testing cattle with tuberculin to detect the 

 presence of tuberculosis, a wide general field has been covered. We have 

 tested suspicious herds scattered from the south line of the State to the 

 shores of Lake Superior and the extreme western line of the upper penin- 

 sula. The experience obtained is a repetition of the experience of all 

 investigations. ' That is, that this disease is highly contagious among cat- 

 tle in the latitude and longitude of all the State of Michigan where herds 

 are kept under favorable environments for its propagation and spread. 

 No breed of cattle are exempt from its ravages. The contagious char- 

 acter of tuberculosis among cattle has been proven beyond a doubt in a 

 multitude of individual cases throughout the country. This commission 

 is actively engaged in suppressing such outbreaks as are brought to its 

 attention. It is our opinion that the cattle of the State are but little 

 affected with this disease, but in herds where the disease has a foothold, 

 and the conditions and environments are favorable to its development, 

 a large percentage of the herd will be likely to be affected. We know of 

 no cure for this disease, and have followed the policy of destroying or 

 closely quarantining affected animals to arrest its farther spread. 



Tuberculosis is the general name given to a class of diseases in animals 

 of which consumption in the human family is a common type. This dis- 

 ease has been known ever since the advent of mankind, under many dif- 

 ferent names. 



Tuberculosis in all its forms is caused by a specific microbe, and this 



