8 JOHNKS DISEASE 



considered as giving rise to the diarrhoea when prob- 

 ably Johne's disease was the cause. 



In 1907 an account of six cases was given by 

 M'Fadyean in the Journal of Comparative Patholog)>, 

 These cases occurred in Shorthorn, Sussex, and Jersey 

 cattle. An attempt to cultivate the bacillus was negative, 

 and inoculation experiments also failed. Since this 

 date very many cases have been recognized, and it is 

 now generally admitted that the disease is prevalent 

 all over England. Chase has seen it in imported Jerseys 

 in South Africa ; and Beebe, Pearson, and Melvin, have 

 reported cases in North America. Throughout Ger- 

 many the disease has been reported, and also in 

 Schleswig-Holstein. 



Meyer of Berne, in Switzerland, in 1908, gave a good 

 description of Johne's disease — calling it " enteritis 

 hypertrophica bovis specifica " — as it occurs in several 

 of the Swiss cantons, and showed that it was in reality 

 responsible for conditions commonly supposed to arise 

 from strongylosis. 



D. Meadows, of the Indian Civil Veterinary Depart- 

 ment, has informed us that a colleague of his has 

 observed a case in India, in Lahore, typical bacilli 

 being present in smears made from rectal scrapings. 



In England, Johne's disease is certainly very preva- 

 lent, much more so than is usually supposed. From 

 inquiries made by owners of diseased cattle, and 

 from veterinary surgeons, and also from replies to 

 a circular letter sent to a large number of private 

 practitioners and to those superintendents of municipal 

 abattoirs who are veterinary surgeons, "we have evi- 

 dence of the existence of the disease in almost every 

 county. 



The condition is becoming much more frequently 

 recognized and differentiated from other causes of 



