384 A MANUAL OF BACTERIOLOGY 



So far, therefore, from any relaxation of the existing 

 supervision of milk -production and meat-production being 

 possible, the Commissioners press upon the Govern 

 ment the enforcement of food regulations, " planned to 

 afford better security against the infection of human 

 beings through the medium of articles of diet derived 

 from tuberculous animals." More particularly they 

 urge such action " in order to avert or minimise the 

 present danger arising from the consumption of infected 

 milk." 



Of young children who died of wasting disease of the 

 intestine, the bovine bacillus was present in nearly half 

 the cases. Further, a large proportion of cases of tuber- 

 culous cervical glands in both children and adults was 

 due to the same bacillus. The wording of the report is : 

 " Whatever, therefore, may be the animal source of tuber- 

 culosis in adolescents and in adult man, there can be no 

 doubt that a considerable proportion of the tuberculosis 

 affecting children is of bovine origin, more particularly 

 that which affects primarily the abdominal organs and 

 the cervical glands. And further, there can be no doubt 

 that primary abdominal tuberculosis, as well as tubercu- 

 losis of the cervical glands, is commonly due to ingestion 

 of tuberculous infective material. The evidence which we 

 have accumulated goes to demonstrate that a consider- 

 able amount of the tuberculosis of childhood is to be 

 ascribed to infection with bacilli of the bovine type 

 transmitted to children in meals consisting largely of the 

 milk of the cow. 



" We are convinced that measures for securing the 

 prevention of ingestion of living bovine tubercle bacilli 

 with milk would greatly reduce the number of cases of 

 abdominal and cervical gland "tuberculosis in children, 

 and that such measures should include the exclusion from 

 the food supply of the milk of the recognisably tuberculous 



