784 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



hard to get rid of. It is due to the presence of a germ which may 

 be easily transmitted from one animal to another. 



DIRECTIONS FOR THE TREATMENT OF AN ABORTING HERD. 



1. Burn the aborted foetus and membranes. This material 

 carries the germs of abortion in abundance and burning or deep 

 burial furnishes the only means of getting rid of it in a safe way. 



2. Isolate discharging cows. The vaginal discharge from cows 

 that have aborted is very virulent and may furnish the means of 

 infecting other cows. Hence, discharging cows should be kept 

 apart from the herd. 



3. Disinfect the premises. This procedure should be executed 

 with the most exacting care. Partial or inefficient disinfection 

 is practically useless. To disinfect, where fumigation with the 

 vapor of formaldehyde cannot be employed, the spray pump fur- 

 nishes the best means. It should be borne in mind that disin- 

 fectants do not destroy germs that they do not come in contact 

 with. So all large accumulations of bedding, forage and manure 

 should be removed and every place that may harbor a germ should 

 be reached with the disinfectant. Especial care should be used to 

 drive it into every crack, knothole, behind every loose board, on 

 top of every beam and into every partly concealed hole as well 

 as upon every exposed surface. A five per cent solution of good 

 (not crude) carbolic acid may be used for this purpose. 



Following the disinfection by spraying and the cleaning of the 

 stable, it may be whitewashed with limewater containing one pound 

 of fresh chloride of lime to each three gallons of water. This may 

 be applied with a brush, or, better still, with a spray pump. 



The barn yard should be well cleaned out, the manure being 

 spread in some field that the cattle do not have access to. 



4. Irrigate the genital passages of the cows that have aborted. 

 This may be done by means of a funnel and a rubber hose five- 

 eights of an inch in diameter and about four or five foet long. 

 Insert the hose into the vagina and, if possible, into the uterus of 

 the cow. Allow from three to four quarts of the warm solution 

 to flow into the cow and out. Take a fresh hose and irrigate the 

 next cow, allowing the first hose to soak in an antiseptic solution 

 in the meantime. 



This treatment should be repeated every second or third day so 

 long as there is any discharge from the cow. Afterwards it may 

 be used once or twice a week. 



There are many solutions recommended for this purpose. A very 

 safe and efficient one being a one per cent solution of permanganate 

 of potash. This solution may be made by using one tablespoonful 

 of the crystals to three gallons of luke warm water. 



5. Irrigate the sheath of the bull. The purpose of flushing 

 out and disinfecting the sheath and the outside of the penis of 

 the bull, is to prevent him from carrying the germ of abortion 

 from one cow to another. This procedure should be enforced be- 

 fore and after each service. This is very important. The sheath 

 may be flushed out by using a small rubber hose and funnel, or by 

 the use of a small syringe. The end of the hose is to be inserted 



