78 THE MILK SITUATION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



2. That all milk produced on such dairy farms shall either come from tuber- 

 culin-tested cattle, which shall be retested at least once a year, or be subjected 

 to pasteurization under the supervision of the health authorities in case the herd 

 is not tuberculin tested. 



3. That no additions to any herd, whether the herd has been tested or not, 

 shall be made in the future without subjecting the additional cattle to the tuber- 

 culin test. 



4. That no license for the sale of milk shall in future be granted except to 

 applicants having herds free of tuberculosis. 



5. That the milk of cattle showing any of the udder affections above men- 

 tioned, 1 or anthrax, rabies, gastroenteritis, septic conditions, or clinical symp- 

 toms of tuberculosis, shall not be utilized as human food, even though the milk 

 be pasteurized. Milk from cows 15 days before and 5 days after parturition 

 shall likewise be excluded. 



6. That veterinary inspectors of the health department make frequent visits to 

 daries having untested herds, in order that they may discover all advanced cases 

 of tuberculosis or udder tuberculosis as early as possible. 



7. That the various States pass laws granting an appropriate indemnity to all 

 owners of tuberculous cattle which come under their respective jurisidctions, 

 the said animals to be slaughtered in abattoirs having Federal or other efficient 

 inspection. 



MILK USED IN DAIRY PRODUCTS SHOULD BE TUBERCULIN TESTED. 



Numerous investigations by recognized authorities, both in Europe 

 and in this country, have conclusively demonstrated that tubercle 

 bacilli may be present in butter, buttermilk, oleomargarine, and 

 cheese, and that butter made in the customary manner and stored 

 under ordinary market conditions until time of sale may retain 

 virulent bacilli for several months. It is of essential importance, 

 therefore, that the restrictions and safeguards applied to milk and 

 cream should be extended to the various milk products so far as nec- 

 essary to protect the public from the dangers of infection from these 

 sources. The requirement that all dairy herds be subjected to the 

 tuberculin test, and in addition to this that the milk from such herds 

 should be pasteurized before it is used, should apply not only to milk 

 and cream used in their raw state, but likewise to all milk and cream 

 contained in ice cream, buttermilk, butter, and cheese. 



ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS AFFECTING BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS. 



Aside from the imminent danger of communicating this dreaded 

 scourge to humanity, there is an economic consideration of great 

 importance to the farmers of our country in eradicating tuberculosis 

 from their herds. It is believed on good authority that between 15 

 and 25 per cent of all the cows supplying milk to the District of Co- 

 lumbia are tuberculous. It may be recounted that, during the period 

 from April, 1907, to June, 1909, inclusive, the Bureau of Animal 

 Industry supervised the testing of 2,471 cattle in herds supplying 

 milk to the District, with the result that 377, or 15.25 per cent, were 

 shown to be tuberculous. Nor is this startling percentage a fair esti- 

 mate of the extent of tuberculosis among the dairy herds of this vi- 

 cinity, since the number of animals tested includes many herds which 

 had either been examined previously or which had exhibited such a 

 healthy appearance as to remove any suspicions of tuberculosis. 



1 Tuberculosis of the udder, botryomycosis, mammitis, mastitis, etc. 



