MILK 89 



diseases of the joints and cervical glands and that tubercle bacilli 

 of the bovine type have been obtained from these lesions. This 

 may be explained by the fact that children drink more milk than 

 adults and that they are more susceptible to the bovine type. 

 Certain authorities hold the view that pulmonary tuberculosis 

 in adults may be accounted for by an infection contracted in child- 

 hood due to milk. That, however, is by no means a general opinion. 



The mode of access of the tubercle bacilli from human cases 

 of the disease is quite easily conceived. A milker suffering from 

 tuberculosis of the lungs, whose fingers have come in contact with 

 his sputum, might readily wash off enormous numbers of bacilli 

 into the milk pail, or droplets expelled from the mouth while talk- 

 ing or coughing might carry their quota. 



Septic Sore Throat. Many epidemics of septic sore throat 

 have occurred directly traceable to the milk supply, and several 

 varieties of streptococci have been isolated as the causal agents. 

 It is assumed that the majority of outbreaks are due to organ- 

 isms derived indirectly from human sources. The streptococci 

 which produce garget in cows do not produce sore throats in human 

 beings, and conversely, the species of streptococci which produce 

 tonsillitis in man are only slightly pathogenic for cows. Experi- 

 ments have shown that the streptococci giving rise to septic sore 

 throat may find their way into the milk ducts when the teats 

 have been wiped with an infected cloth ; thus they may become 

 implanted in the udder of the cow and continue to grow for several 

 weeks without giving rise to any form of disease. In this way 

 the cow may be a " carrier " of the human variety of strepto- 

 cocci. 



Foot and Mouth Disease has been reported to have been trans- 

 mitted to man through dairy products coming from diseased cows. 

 In many the disease is very mild and seldom fatal. 



Infantile Diarrhea. Whether the majority of cases of infantile 

 diarrhea are due to the bacterial content of dirty, stale milk or 

 to its changed chemical content is not yet decided. While no 

 single organism has been isolated that can truly be said to produce 

 the malady, it remains true that in localities where fresh, clean 



