No. L] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. i ( .»'.> 



Swine Diseases. 



During 1901 twenty-three reports of outbreaks of disease 

 among swine have been received. These diseases are 

 usually grouped under the generic name hog cholera; but, 

 when investigated, the conditions classified under this 

 cognomen are found to be due to various causes. There is 

 true hog cholera, characterized by the ulcerations of the 

 Peyer's patches and solitary glands around the ileo-csecal 

 valve and large intestines, with or without the presence of 

 pneumonia ; then there is " swine plague," a form of swine 

 septicemia, which may be associated with hog cholera, or 

 may exist as an independent disease. In the autumn, when 

 cold weather approaches, pigs kept under barns bury them- 

 selves in the warm manure, and when called out to the 

 trough on a frosty morning become chilled, and many in 

 this way develop pneumonia and die. This pneumonia may 

 be a form of the "swine plague," the burying itself in 

 manure predisposing the pig to it. Swine may also have 

 verminous bronchitis, due to the presence of a small, 

 thread-like worm in the bronchial tubes. An outbreak 

 supposed to be swine plague, investigated in Lowell, 

 proved to be this disease. 



Of the other twenty-two reports of swine disease brought 

 to the notice of the Board, twelve proved to be hog cholera, 

 including six herds in Gloucester, one in Westfield, two in 

 Haverhill, one in North Grafton, one in Lancaster and one 

 in Townsend. About all that can be done in these cases is 

 to quarantine the swine, forbidding the sale or purchase 

 of any until the outbreak subsides. After the sick have 

 recovered or died, and no new cases are noticed, the owner 

 is advised to disinfect the pens, and the quarantine is raised. 

 Hogs ready for the market in piggeries where hog cholera 

 appears are killed subject to the usual slaughter house 

 inspection, if the owner wishes to market them. 



Outbreaks of disease in swine may sometimes be traced 

 to feeding city swill, particularly if it is decomposing or 

 fermenting. All such swill is safer if cooked before 

 using it. 



