12 JOHNE'S DISEASE 



it is difficult to obtain reliable information. In 1907, 

 Vukovic of Bosnia found cases of the disease in cattle, 

 and in the following year he observed the same con- 

 dition in sheep. We have received a communication 

 from him with regard to the sheep, and he states that 

 he has met with several badly contaminated flocks, 

 although the majority of the flocks appear to be free 

 from the disease. The cases mentioned by him were 

 entirely in mountain sheep, and he makes the interest- 

 ing observation that the disease seems to be most 

 prevalent in leprous districts. Sections of the bowel 

 of affected animals (made in 1909), sent to us by this 

 authority, show acid-fast bacilli in enormous numbers. 



Craik of Alnwick has brought cases of scrapie to the 

 notice of the English Board of Agriculture, and Stock- 

 man has found acid-fast bacilli in the intestinal lesions 

 similar to those of Johne's disease in cattle. From 

 inquiries which we made by a circular letter to a large 

 number of veterinary surgeons we have evidence of 

 the existence of a similar condition in sheep with the 

 clinical symptoms of Johne's disease, but usually the 

 disease was not confirmed on post-mortem examina- 

 tion by the demonstration of the bacillus. 



M'Fadyean, Sheather, and Edwards, have described 

 a case in a Welsh ewe in which acid-fast bacilli were 

 found in large numbers in the thickened wall of the 

 intestine. 



In the early part of this year the present writers 

 received from Northampton a well-marked specimen 

 of the disease in a sheep's gut, and it was from this 

 specimen that we cultivated the sheep strain of Johne's 

 bacillus mentioned later. 



M'Fadyean, in his annual report to the Royal 

 Agricultural Society, stated that he had met with a 

 case in a herd of deer kept in a park, but, as far as we 



