PUBLICIZED widely during the past few years, bru- 

 cellosis in cattle, commonly called Bang's disease, is 

 pretty well known to Illinois farmers. But brucel- 

 losis in hogs, also known as Traum's disease, is a rela- 

 tively new disease to most hog farmers. I have been 



impressed by this fact while meeting with farmers all 

 over the state. This is only natural because it has not 

 been in the limelight until recently. 



The germ causing this disease in swine is similar to 

 the one causing Bang's disease in cattle. I like to think of 

 them as brothers in the same family — the Brucella family. 

 The germ in cattle is known as Brucella abortus and in 

 hogs Brucella suis. The hog germ can infect cattle but 

 the cattle germ has not been proven to infect hogs. 



Both germs can infect man and cause the disease 

 known as undulant fever, Malta fever, or brucellosis. The 

 swine germ is believed to be more likely to infect humans 

 than the cattle "bug." 



How do humans get the disease? 1 . By handl-ng the 

 diseased animal itself, 2. By contacting discharges from an 

 infected hog, 3. By helping an infected sow at farrowing, 

 4. By slaughtering diseased swine and, 5. By eating pork 

 from an infected hog if the meat was not thoroughly 

 cooked. 



So don't forget that hogs on your farm infected with 

 this disease are a distinct menace to the health of you and 

 your family. Further proof of this fact is that records 

 show that veterinarians and workmen on the hog slaughter- 

 ing floors in packing houses are the most likely to get un- 

 dulant fever. 



How can I protect myself from exposure to this dis- 

 ease? Farmers and veterinarians can protect themselves 

 by wearing rubber gloves. When helping a sow farrow, 

 handling dead pigs, membranes, or exposing hands to ani- 

 mal discharges a pair of rubber gloves are worth their 



weight in gold and the cheapest insurance I know of. 



In some ways this disease in hogs is similar to Bang's 

 disease in cattle but there are several distinct differ^ces 



too. , ^ ■■;,-..:.>•.' ;■■■•.■ ■^,^;,| \:--/-<>^.:-.t ■ 



The similarities: 1. Often causes the sow to abort 

 or "slip" pigs. 2. Is detected by means of the blood test. 

 3. Hogs may have the disease without visible outward 

 signs. 4. Causes a severe loss when in a herd. 



The diflFerences: 1. Usually shorter lived in indi- 

 vidual animals, sows usually abort but once. 2. Boars 

 are the worst spreaders of this condition. 3. Swollen 

 testicles as a result of orchitis (inflammation of the testi- 

 cle) is a common symptom. 4. Progressive posterior pa- 

 ralysis is a common symptom in sows. 5. Vaccination 

 does not seem to be of value against this disease in hogs. 

 6. The blood test is not as reliable on individual animals. 



How widespread is this condition? Dr. I. Forrest 

 Huddleson, a recognized authority on brucellosis, is report- 

 ed to have said, "From 50-90 per cent of the pigs far- 

 rowed by diseased sows will die before they are four days 

 old and from 20-50 per cent infection exists in large herds 

 where swine raising is a major industry." The American 

 Foundation for Animal Health estimates that 20 per cent 

 of the herds in the U. S. are infected. 



Check your breedmg herd by having your veterinarian 

 draw blood samples from them and subject it to the agglu- 

 tination test. If you have no reactors or only a few sus- 

 picious reactions in the herd at low dilutions you can con- 

 sider yourself extremely fortunate. Your only worry is to 

 be sure you don't introduce the disease to your herd by 

 animals you buy — especially boars. Buy boars from 

 herds known to be free from the disease. If you can't do 

 that have them blood tested twice about 60 days apart be- 

 fore using them for breeding. 



{Continued on page 26) 



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I. A. A. RECORD 



