TREATMENT OF CHOLERA 251 



to be fed through the winter season. Cattle or sheep unloaded into 

 these infected pens are bound to gather up on their hoofs a certain 

 amount of the germ-carrying manure and mud from the diseased 

 pens, and, as a result, they carry with them this cholera-producing 

 material to their future home and distribute it hberally about the 

 pastures. In the Central States it is almost always the rule to 

 allow the hogs to follow the same range as the cattle, and as a 

 result it is only a question of a few days after the arrival of the 

 cattle until we are liable to have an outbreak of our old enemy, 

 cholera, on the farms. The disease in these cases is often puzzUng 

 to trace unless you get at the facts correctly and properly under- 

 stand the history you get. There may be no cholera for miles 

 in all directions, and you may be absolutely at a loss to explain 

 why an outbreak should occur. Very frequently these obscure 

 outbreaks can be traced in just this manner. 



There is another point in connection with shipment of live 

 stock and the spread of cholera, and that is the use of cars which 

 have become infected with cholera germs. For instance. Farmer 

 Brown, living in Missouri, ships a carload of hogs to Chicago from 

 a cholera herd. Some of the animals die on the way and the entire 

 car is freely infected from the discharges of the sick animals. This 

 car is swept out and re-used for shipment of a load of feeder cattle 

 by Farmer Jones, in northern Illinois. There can be but very 

 little question that these cattle when unloaded from the car are 

 carriers of a large amount of hog-cholera virus, which they will 

 distribute along the pubHc highway and carry to the feed lots 

 of Farmer Jones. 



This, by the way, gives another illustration of how easily a 

 pubhc road may become infected, and is another argument why 

 hog pastures should not be located in close contact with the pubUc 

 roadway. 



All cars that are used for shipment of hogs should be immedi- 

 ately cleaned and disinfected, under United States Government 

 supervision if possible, before being again allowed for use in ship- 

 ment of live stock. This should be done regardless of whether 

 the cars are intended for use in the shipment of hogs or other ani- 

 mals. While the danger is no doubt much greater if hogs are to 

 be loaded back into these infected cars, the element of danger is 



