

PREFACE 



Johne's disease, the subject of this small monograph, 

 is a condition that has recently attracted considerable 

 attention in this country. In 1895 Johne and Frothing- 

 ham discovered the causative bacillus in the lesions, 

 and since that time the disease has been investigated 

 by many other workers. Although at the present day 

 Johne's disease is frequently mistaken for tuberculosis, 

 strongylosis, and other conditions, it is rapidly be- 

 coming more generally recognized. It is known that 

 besides cattle, sheep, deer, and goats may become 

 infected, and that the disease is widely distributed over 

 the globe, in some areas the loss to stockowners from 

 this condition being greater than that from tuberculosis. 

 An important article by Professor Penberthy dealing 

 with the disease and its economic importance, and the 

 need for State legislation, has recently appeared in the 

 Journal of the Bath and West of England Agricultural 

 Society. 



In the following pages we have attempted to sum- 

 marize existing knowledge on the subject, and have 

 brought before English readers the investigations of 

 Continental workers — notably those of Professor Bang 

 of Copenhagen and of Professor Miessner of Hanover 

 — which have not been generally available to veterinary 

 surgeons and stockowners in this country. We have 

 also included our own investigations, which have been 



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