Foot-and-Mouth Disease. 73 



flammatory conditions of the udder, that is, slimy, watery, and in- 

 termixed with coagulum. 



It is an important fact that milk from animals which are af- 

 fected with foot-and-mouth disease will contain the virus of foot- 

 and-mouth disease, if it has been contaminated by the vesicular 

 contents. Nocard succeeded in proving, however, by careful ster- 

 ile drawing of the milk from cows affected with foot-and-mouth 

 disease, that the milk does not contain the virus of foot-and-mouth 

 disease as it leaves the udder. 



Nevertheless it is not satisfactorily proved that a direct 

 elimination of the virus may not take place at the beginning of the 

 febrile state, as at this time the virus is present in the blood. If 

 the udder itself is affected by the eruptions of foot-and-mouth 

 disease it is hardly possible to avoid contamination of the milk with 

 the vesicular contents. Considering the ease with which the virus 

 of the disease is spread, it may be assumed that the entire milk of 

 a herd affected by the disease, under ordinary conditions of milk 

 production, contains the contagion of foot-and-mouth disease. 

 Strict veterinary police measures must be inaugurated to prevent 

 the spread of the disease. Sale of the milk should be permitted 

 only after sufficient heating. The maintenance of a temperature 

 of 70 deg. C. for one-half hour will make the milk perfectly safe. 



Milk containing the living virus of foot-and-mouth disease 

 must be considered deleterious to human health, since it has been 

 established by experiments and observations that the disease is 

 transmissible to human beings. Vesicular and ulcerated inflam- 

 matory changes of the buccal mucous membrane with fever and 

 general symptoms develop with possible vesicles and ulcers on the 

 hands, arms, breast, lips, ears, and in the throat. Vomiting and 

 diarrhea may be associated with symptoms of a gastro-intestinal 

 inflammation, and the affection may even terminate in death. (Bus- 

 senius and Siegel, Jensen, annual reports of the Imperial Board 

 of Health, Hertwig, Stickler, Schreyer, Krajewski, Walkowski, and 

 others). Bongert suggests the separation in dairy stables of the 

 non-affected, slightly and severely affected animals into isolated 

 groups, and in order to reduce the economic losses as low as pos- 

 sible, the milk of these groups should be treated in different ways. 

 Heated milk from the non-affected animals for instance, could be 

 utilized as infant's milk. The milk from slightly affected animals 

 could be marketed as ordinary milk [after pasteurization], while 

 the milk from the severely affected cows or milk changed in its 

 consistence, should be excluded from consumption even in a heated 

 condition. Even with this separation the losses will necessarily be 

 high as a result of the enforcement of stringent sanitary regu- 

 lations. 



According to Ebert sour milk 3 to 4 days old is no longer 

 capable of transmitting the infection. The transmission is possi- 



