The Prevention of Hog Diseases 459 



or vaccine in case the herd is diseased, or has been exposed 

 to a communicable disease. 



The relation of sanitation to disease may be discussed 

 under the following heads : confining hogs in crowded 

 quarters; location, construction, and arrangement of 

 buildings and yards; method of feeding; and source of 

 water supply. 



It is not uncommon for hogs to be closely confined and 

 in quarters that are overcrowded. Such quarters are 

 usually the filthiest places on the farm, as it is very diffi- 

 cult to keep crowded pens and houses clean. Disease- 

 producing germs such as the Bacillus tuberculosis and 

 filterable virus of hog cholera cannot originate in filth, 

 but when introduced into filthy quarters the infection 

 soon spreads among the animals. Close confinement 

 and crowding greatly lower resistance toward disease, 

 especially in young animals, and filthy feeding floors and 

 watering places favor the entrance of disease-producing 

 germs into the body. Some of these germs may live for 

 months in the manure and litter that is allowed to accumu- 

 late about the pens and houses. Infestation by lung and 

 intestinal worms and lice is greatest when hogs are closely 

 confined. 



Straw stacks, old straw sheds, and houses with dirt 

 floors are very unsatisfactory shelters for hogs. Young 

 animals cannot thrive or remain healthy if allowed to 

 pile up and burrow into straw stacks, or lie on a wet bed 

 of straw and in dusty quarters. Such "makeshift" 

 quarters greatly increase the cost of producing pork. 

 During the fall, winter, and spring, hogs should have a 

 clean dry bed of straw. Portable houses and sun shades 

 should have a wood or concrete floor. Earth floors are 

 usually dusty, and dust is one of the greatest enemies 



