LIVE STOCK. 



103 



Tuberculosis of Farm Animals 



The frequent appearance of tuber- 

 culosis among the various classes of 

 farm animals, especially dairy cattle, 

 and the consequent alarm which has 

 been created owing to this menace 

 to the health of persons, and to the 

 prosperity of the dairying industry, 

 makes it highly advisable to use every 

 means possible to spread a knowledge 

 of the nature and ravages of this 

 disease. We have selected the fol- 

 lowing treatise from the reports of 

 the International Commission on the 

 Control of Bovine Tuberculosis. 



"Tuberculosis is a wide-spread dis- 

 ease affecting animals and also man. 

 Human beings and cattle are its chief 

 victims, but there is no kind of ani- 

 mal which will not take it. Hogs 

 and chickens are quite often affected; 

 horses, sheep and goats but seldom, 

 while cattle are the most susceptible 

 of all animals. 



Cause of Loss 



"Tuberculosis is contagious, or 

 'catching.' It spreads from cow to 

 cow in a lierd until most of them are 

 affected. The presence of the disease 

 may not attract much attention from 

 the owner, as it is slow to develop, 

 and a cow may be affected with it for 

 several months, and sometimes years, 

 before any signs of ill-health are to 

 be seen. 



"This slow development is the 

 chief reason for the great loss to the 

 farmer. He does not suspect it.s 

 presence in his herd until, perhaps, 

 a large number are diseased. If the 

 disease developed rapidly and caused 

 death in a comparatively short time, 

 the^ owner would soon take steps to 

 check its progress and to protect the 

 rest of his herd. Tuberculosis is 

 slow and hidden in Its course, and 

 thus arouses no suspicion until great 

 damage is done. 



"Over a century ago its contagious 

 nature was suspected, and many facts 

 were recorded to prove that it must 

 be 'catching.* Doctors differed about 

 it, and for a long time the question 



was hotly disputed. Finally, it was 

 settled by Dr. Robert Koch, a dis- 

 tinguished German physician, wlio 

 discovered the germ of the disease 

 in the year 1882, and named it bac- 

 illus tuberculosis. He proved by ex- 

 periment that the disease is produced 

 by these germs, and without them the 

 disease cannot be produced. It is 

 now universally admitted that tuber- 

 culosis is a contagious disease, and 

 may be transmitted from one animal 

 to another, and from animals to man. 



"The importance of the disease 

 must be estimated from two points of 

 view: First, the loss it entails upon 

 the cattle owner, and second, the 

 danger of commuci. ation to human 

 beings. Consider fi.tt the effect upon 

 the pocket of the owner of the cattle. 

 A serious percentage of the dairy 

 cows of this continent are affected. 

 It is no uncommon thing to find as 

 many as 70 or 80 per cent, of the 

 cows in a herd diseased. These ani- 

 mals will be in various stages, some 

 recently infected, showing no sign of 

 ill-health; others badly diseased, but 

 outwardly appearing healthy; while a 

 few are evidently breaking down and 

 wasting away. 



"Turning to the other aspect of the 

 case — the danger of infection of hu- 

 man beings with tuberculosis from 

 cattle — we have only to consider a 

 few facts to realize its vital import- 

 ance to every community. Milk is 

 the staple food of infants and young 

 children, and is usually taken in the 

 raw state. If this milk is taken from 

 a tuberculous cow, it may contain 

 millions of tubercle germs. Young 

 children fed on such milk often con- 

 tract the disease, and it is a frequent 

 cause of death among them. 



"Meat from tuberculous cattle is 

 not so likely to convey the infection 

 for several reasons. It does not so 

 frequently contain the germs, and 

 cooking will destroy those which may 

 be present, and lastly, meat is not 

 consumed by very young children. 



