THE MOST COMMOiX DISEASES OF SWINE 55 1 



and swelling of the joints. -An affected animal will 

 sometimes show loss of flesh, and in this case the dis- 

 ease has usually reached the stage which means the 

 death of the hog in a coniDaratively short time, usually 

 in a few weeks. 



The United States Bureau of Animal Industry estimat- 

 ed in 1906 (Bulletin No. 38) that the approximate 

 number of carcasses of hogs condemned annually by 

 Federal meat inspectors because of tuberculosis totals 

 65,000, valued at $780,000, and in addition to these 

 there were, in 1905, 142,105 parts of hog carcasses 

 condemned for the same cause. This total of $780,000 

 is nearly double the amount representing the value of 

 beef carcasses annually condemned because of tuber- 

 culosis, and the value is steadily on the increase. 



The main source of contagion is from the skimmed 

 milk and droppings of dairy cows, and tuberculosis in 

 swine is most prevalent in the dairy sections. Scientists 

 generally agree that the tuberculosis of hogs and other 

 mammals may be communicated to human beings, and 

 that tuberculosis of human beings is communicable to 

 swine, dogs and cats, although not generally communi- 

 cable to cattle. 



Tuberculosis is due to a microbe which multiplies onlv 

 inside the animal body and produces tuberculosis among 

 all domestic animals and a great many wild animals. A 

 full description of the manner of infection through the 

 tubercular bacillus is given in ''Tuberculosis of the Food 

 Producing Animals." prepared by Salmon as Bulletin 

 No. 38 of the Bureau of Animal Industry, United States 

 Department of Agriculture. 



