64 



1)I\ ISIOX Ol' AXLMAL IXDl'STRY. 



Honolulu, March 16, 1914. 



The lionorable the IJoard of Commissioners of Ai^riculture and 

 l-"orestry. 



Gentlemen : — 1 regret to state that my health has continued 

 highly unsatisfactory during the greater part of the past month, 

 the swollen condition of my feet (dermal neuritis) compelling me 

 to keep to my room unless important business during the absence 

 of my assistant in the country made it imperative that 1 attend to it 

 in person. 



in spite of this J have given full liinc to the work of the divi- 

 sion, a number of important reports having been received from 

 various federal and state authorities, principal among which are 

 the "Proceedings of the American Veterinary Medical Associa- 

 tion"" at its 50th anniversary meeting in New York last fall, and 

 which contains a number of valuable papers on the eradication of 

 bovine tuberculosis and its relation to lul)erculosis among chil- 

 dren. 



It is also gratifying to learn that the intradermal tuberculin 

 test, which we have now used here between three and four years, 

 is finally gaining recognition and that several states have now 

 adopted it for ofhcial tuberculosis work. California especially has 

 given much thought and work to the problem and mentions the 

 favorable results obtained in this Territor}-. 



In regard to the susceptibility of children to bovine tu])crcu- 

 losis, it would now seem to be definitely settled that the danger 

 to children from tuberculous milk is very great. Following the 

 Tuberculosis Congress in Washington in 1908, where Prof. Koch 

 again asserted his opposing views, Dr. Park, the director of the 

 laboratories of the board of health, started to work on this sub- 

 ject, and has now demonstrated that in the city of New York up- 

 ward of three hundred children die every single year from bovine 

 infection — three hundred fatal cases occur each year in the single 

 city of New York. Dr. Park estimates that this number amounts 

 to about 12j/ i)er cent of all the fatal cases of tuberculosis in 

 children, and adds, "Surely we need no better evidence than that 

 to demand of us the i)rotection of human beings against b(wine 

 tuberculosis."' 



Dr. i'ark has also collected figures from all parts of thejvorld, 

 and these are very interesting, lie says: "In adults 787 cases 

 have been examined, of which 777 show luunau infection .and 10 

 show bovine infection. The conclusion is that, so far as we can 

 judge, adults are ])ro1)ably fairly imnnuie to bovine tuberculosis 

 infection. Coming to children from live years of age to sixteen 

 years of age. we have 153 cases, 117 of which were of human 

 and 36 of bovine origin, ("oming to children five years old and 



