INFLUENCE OF DISEASE UPON MILK 99 



served; in some cases the face has been affected in this 

 way. 



Milk from cows affected with cowpox should not be 

 used for food. When the disease is enzootic, the healthy 

 and diseased cows should be separated and separate 

 milkers provided for each class. This is especially im- 

 portant when the milk is to be used by children. The 

 virus of cowpox is destroyed by a temperature of 48 C. 

 (119 F.). Milk from infected animals which has not 

 undergone any physical change and milk which has been 

 exposed to infection may be rendered safe by heating to 

 this temperature. 



False Cowpoac. Cowpox should not be confused with 

 a condition more commonly affecting the udder which 

 is known as false cowpox. In this condition, small nodu- 

 lar swellings which may be as large as a pea appear on 

 the teats and neighboring parts of the udder, rupture in 

 a few days, and then heal under a scab. The teats are 

 not hot, swollen or tender and there is no red area around 

 the nodules, as in true cowpox ; fever is also absent. The 

 condition is supposed to be caused by the ordinary pyo- 

 genic cocci, which are rubbed into the skin during milk- 

 ing or enter through wounds. Cows with teats covered 

 with a fine skin seem to be most susceptible. The condition 

 may be transmitted from cow to cow by the hands of 

 the milker, but is not transmissible to man. The milk is 

 not affected except in so far as it may be contaminated 

 with purulent matter from the ruptured nodules. There 

 is only a small quantity of this material and the con- 

 tamination from this source therefore can only be very 

 slight. 



Furunculosis of the Udder is sometimes called cowpox 

 by dairymen. This condition usually occurs sporadically, 



