6 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 372 



fever not long before he started to work at the farm. He thought that 

 he had completely recovered, and he appeared to be healthy; but he very 

 probably was the source of the infection. 



Instances of scarlet fever infection from dairy products other than 

 milk do not appear to be as numerous as with typhoid fever, but out- 

 breaks have been traced to ice cream. An outbreak was reported (2) 

 from Flint, Michigan, in 1924, which included 41 cases and extended 

 over 7 days. The ice cream was infected by the maker who had had a 

 mild case of scarlet fever. 



Septic Sore Throat 



Septic sore throat, known also as epidemic sore throat, is a milk-borne 

 disease that has become a significant public health problem in relatively 

 recent years. Epidemics traceable to milk have been observed in Eng- 

 land since 1875, but the first carefully observed epidemic in this country 

 occurred in Boston in 1911 (8). Since that time, a number of epidemics 

 have been studied, and a streptococcus has been described as the respon- 

 sible germ. Some authorities believe that one specific species of strep- 

 tococcus causes the epidemic disease, while others think that several 

 species of related streptococci may be able to set up practically identical 

 disease conditions. 



It is probable that septic sore throat is always of human origin (2), 

 coming from a case or a carrier. Attempts have been made to trace the 

 disease to cows afflicted with mastitis, but the prevailing opinion is that 

 there is no relationship between the two diseases. It is true that the 

 streptococcus has been found in milk freshly drawn from cows, but avail- 

 able evidence seems to indicate that such cows have been infected from 

 human source. 



For the years 1926 through 1929, there were 1,772 cases of septic sore 

 throat reported in Massachusetts (7). Of these, 1,034 (58.3 percent) were 

 traced to milk supplies. In July, 1928, a very severe explosive epidemic 

 occurred in a small town in Western Massachusetts (9). There were 

 between 925 and 975 cases, and 48 known deaths. A majority of the cases 

 were traced to one milk dealer who bought milk from several dairies, 

 and sold it all as raw milk. A cow in one of the herds was found to have 

 a streptococcus infection of the udder, and one of the milkers and several 

 members of his family had been ill with an infection that may have been 

 septic sore throat. The evidence incriminating either the cow or the 

 milker was only circumstantial, but the epidemic remains one of the most 

 explosive and most severe so far recorded. 



Undulant Fever 



Undulant fever in man is caused by a species of bacteria that causes 

 contagious abortion in cattle. Malta fever, a disease contracted from 

 goats' milk, has been known in Europe for a good many years, and it 

 was shown in 1918 (10) that the germ causing contagious abortion in 

 cattle is closely related to the germ of Malta fever. This suggested the 

 possibility that a disease occurring in the United States, and recognized 

 as a form of Malta fever, might be caused by the germ of contagious 

 abortion. This belief was strengthened by a succession of experiments, 

 and in 1924 the first proven case of what is now known as undulant 

 fever was reported (8). Even though the disease has been recognized 



