188 ADMINISTRATIVE SECTION 



refer chiefly to control from the point of view of 

 acute infectious diseases spread by milk and with 

 general cleanliness and the production of clean milk. 



MILK AND THE ACUTE INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 



As regards acute infectious disease the actual 

 infection of the milk may occur at any stage in the 

 passage of the milk from the cow to the consumer, 

 but a study of the records of individual outbreaks 

 shows that in the great majority of them the infection 

 has taken place at the source of the milk. While, 

 therefore, precautions are necessary throughout, they 

 are especially required at the source of production. 



The existing legal powers for controlling these 

 outbreaks are most unsatisfactory. When, as is usual, 

 the outbreak and the seat of infection are in different 

 sanitary areas the delays and restrictions imposed by 

 the red tape requirements of the legal sections are so 

 vexatious that most of the harm is done before the legal 

 machinery can be put in effective motion. Most of 

 these restrictions will be removed if the present Milk 

 Bill becomes law. Even if these sections are made 

 law, they will not go far to prevent outbreaks of infec- 

 tious disease spread from milk. They are essentially 

 directed to the investigation of outbreaks which have 

 already occurred, and attempting to stop their further 

 spread ; they do not prevent outbreaks, only aim at 

 limiting them after they have started. 



I am of opinion that to prevent these outbreaks it 

 is necessary to recognize that special precautions are 

 required on the part of those who handle milk. It 

 should be compulsory (with penalty of loss of licence 

 to produce or handle milk on default) for every dairy- 

 man to notify all cases of illness in himself or his family, 

 or his employees and their families, to the local 

 sanitary authority. All forms and postages for this 

 should be paid for by that authority. Certificates that 

 no illness has occurred to the dairyman's knowledge 



