196 VETERINARY HYGIENE 



ness of the owners, whereas a little heed to their moral obligations 

 would prevent much unnecessary suffering and loss. 



QUARANTINE. Quarantine means the separation of the appar- 

 ently healthy that have been exposed to the risk of infection from 

 those animals that are healthy and have not been exposed to the risk 

 of infection. 



The object of quarantine is to give time to disease that may be 

 latent to become active and obvious. 



Since the period of incubation or latent period of the various 

 infectious diseases differs very considerably, a special quarantine 

 period is allowed for each and one that gives a margin of safety. 

 The incubative period of rabies for example may extend to six 

 months, or possibly longer, while on the other hand the quarantine 

 period for foot-and-mouth disease need only be a fortnight or so as 

 its incubative period is very short. 



The term quarantine comes from the French quarante (forty), 

 and originally referred to the isolation of ships and their crews that 

 arrived at a clean port from one in which there was such a disease 

 as plague or yellow fever. 



During the period of quarantine measures are taken to disinfect 

 material that may be infective, and to destroy such as is of no value 

 or which would not repay the cost of disinfection. 



NOTIFICATION. The notification of scheduled diseases is dealt 

 with under the Animals (Notification of Disease) Order of 1910. 

 It is a very necessary part in the process of controlling and eradi- 

 cating those diseases that are considered sufficiently dangerous as to 

 call for official control. Danger to life of animals or man is not 

 the only reason that certain diseases are picked out for legislative 

 measures. Some diseases, such as sheep-scab, cause widespread 

 trouble and great financial loss if left unchecked, or are subject to 

 spasmodic or partial supervision. Foot-and-mouth disease is 

 another instance where the death rate is low, but if it were allowed 

 to rage unchecked, as a certain misguided portion of the agricul- 

 tural community apparently desire, the financial loss to the country 

 would be incalculable, due to loss of milk, loss of condition and to 

 abortion, to say nothing of the prohibition of exports that clean 

 countries would insist upon. Notification of the existence or 

 suspected existence of a scheduled disease serves the following 

 purposes : 



It informs a Central Authority of the existence or suspected 

 existence of disease and its location. It brings experts into contact 

 with the disease, and enables them to confirm or refute the 

 suspicion. It puts into operation measures of control such as 



