92 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 



As to the efficacy of the simultaneous treatment, where the serum and 

 virus are right and are properly given, to produce immunity and thus 

 permanently prevent the ravages of hog cholera there is in my mind 

 absolutely no question. 



That it can be done has been proved time and time again. To be sure 

 there are numerous cases where serum has been used with no apparent 

 effect, and the simultaneous treatment has been given in order to gain 

 permanent immunity, that results have been deadly and almost entire 

 herds have been lost. But careful investigation, and thorough analysis 

 of the serum used have proved, or would have proved, that where the 

 simultaneous method was employed the simple serum treatment only should 

 have been used, and in both cases the serum itself had lost part if not 

 all its potency. 



My Own Experience.: In May, 1911, with 172 head of hogs, young and 

 old, on hand, cholera broke out in our herd. We immediately began the 

 use of serum, injecting not only the hogs already sick with the disease, 

 but also those that had been exposed. The effect of the treatment was 

 to check the progress of the disease, and our losses were confined to those 

 animals that had become badly infected before the serum was used. We 

 came out of the siege with 127 animals, having lost forty-five eight 

 mature hogs and thirty-seven pigs. Compare these results with those of 

 one of our neighbors whose herd was attacked by cholera shortly after 

 our herd became infected. He had 165 animals, young and old, at the 

 beginning, and he came out of his trouble with only five head remaining 

 two sows and three pigs. He did not believe in the serum treatment or 

 in its virtue as a preventive. Note the comparative results and draw your 

 own conclusions. 



This outbreak of cholera in our own herd led us to adopt the policy 

 of permanently immunizing every animal. Those that had recovered from 

 the disease were already immune. Those that had never shown sickness, 

 even though they had previously been given the simple serum, were sub- 

 jected to the simultaneous treatment. This practice we rigidly adhere 

 to. All young pigs from immune parents, before being weaned, and all 

 new stock brought into the herd, unless we are positive it has already 

 been treated, are likewise given the simultaneous treatment. And in 

 giving the treatment we have never lost a single animal as a result of 

 such treatment, and up to the present time we have treated upwards of 

 1,300 animals. In this, however, we have been singularly fortunate. Sta- 

 tistics show that ordinarily a loss of from two to five per cent of the 

 animals treated may be looked for. But even this is insignificant when 

 compared with losses that commonly follow an outbreak where the treat- 

 ment is not employed. 



Applying the Treatment. Our method of procedure in giving the 

 simultaneous treatment may explain in part the reason for our freedom 

 from loss following its application. 



In beginning the work of immunizing our herd we gave each animal a 

 regular dose of simple serum alone. This was given as a preparatory 

 treatment. Fourteen (14) days later we gave each animal thus treated 

 the double or simultaneous treatment, using the virus and the regular 

 amount of serum. The preparatory treatment paved the way for the 

 simultaneous treatment 14 days later, and rendered the animal better 

 able to stand the latter treatment. 



In treating pigs whose parents are immune, we give the simultaneous 

 treatment at once, and without the preparatory dose. We usually treat 

 our pigs about two weeks before we wean them. 



Hogs and pigs being treated should be given a clean, dry place to 

 house in, plenty of cool, clean water, and all heating and heavy feeds 

 should be discontinued for a couple of weeks. 



In case any animal, given the simultaneous treatment, is not doing 

 well as a result of the treatment, give it another, a double dose of simple 

 serum. This will help carry it through the fight. 



While we recognize that the giving of the above so-called preparatory 

 dose of simple serum doubles the cost of immunizing hogs and pigs, yet 



