406 DISEASES OF SWINE 



jump across a distance of over a mile unless dead animals are left 

 exposed in the fields to attract crows, buzzards, and dogs. This is 

 prevented by proper sanitary instruction of the owner of the in- 

 fected herd, and a careful watch should be kept by state authorities 

 to see that these sanitary instructions are carried out. 



SIMULTANEOUS TREATMENT OF PIGS 



At the commencement of an outbreak of cholera there are 

 likely to be a large number of young pigs on the infected farm 

 and also on the neighboring farms. What sort of treatment should 

 be given to these pigs? Should they be given any treatment? 

 These are questions often asked. 



By all means these httle fellows should be given the benefit of 

 protection by serum. In case of a severe cholera outbreak all 

 pigs should be treated, whether they be from an immune herd 

 or not. These little fellows, born from immune sows, are protected 

 from cholera just as long as they feed only on the mother's milk, 

 but just as soon as they begin to eat other articles of food, such 

 as slop, dirt, and anything which may be a carrier of the hog- 

 cholera virus, they are liable to become infected and develop the 

 disease. Cholera is very deadly in these small pigs, and once it 

 gets a start with them it is almost sure to kill every one of them. 



The question may come up as to how young a pig may be 

 safely injected with hog-cholera serum. In answer to this ques- 

 tion I would merely say that a pig is never too young to receive 

 the serum treatment. Hog-cholera serum is absolutely harmless 

 if it be made properly and is clean and free from germs of other 

 diseases. The virus of hog-cholera is not present in the serum, 

 and the germ fighters or antibodies present can produce absolutely 

 no harm. If an outbreak of cholera is present or threatens on a 

 farm, hog-cholera serum may with safety be given to pigs as young 

 as two days old. Remember, however, that these little fellows 

 require a larger dose in comparison with their size than do the 

 older and heavier hogs. 



In young sucking pigs it is not advisable to give the double 

 method of treatment. The cells of these young animals do not 

 seem to be yet in condition to take on the function of manu- 

 facturing germ-fighting bodies, and, as a result, the permanent 



