TRACKING DOm 



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OUICKER ways to shut the door 

 on livestock diseases, and to pre- 

 vent their spread, are available to 

 Illinois farmers through the three 

 regional testing laboratories set 

 up recently by the state Department of 

 Agriculture. 



The new laboratories, equipped to 

 track down obscure animal diseases, can 

 make complete bacteriological and 

 blood tests, perform urinalysis, and do 

 clinical chemistry work. 



Farmers and veterinarians are invited 

 to submit specimens to the state-sup- 

 ported laboratories for diagnosis. The 

 laboratories are located at Centralia, 

 Peoria, and Chicago. A fourth labora- 

 tory, where this same work is done, is 

 located at Champaign-Urbana, and is 

 operated by the College of Agricul- 

 ture. 



The four laboratories will work 

 together to bring laboratory facilities 

 closer to farmers and veterinarians 

 throughout Illinois. 



The idea for these regional labora- 

 tories originated with a committee 

 representing various agricultural in- 

 terests, and was supported by the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association and the 



state medical and veterinary professions. 



The purpose of the laboratories is 

 to help the veterinarian give better and 

 more efficient service to the livestock 

 and poultry owner. 



In the words of Dr. Frederick W. 

 Boebel, director of the Peoria laboratory: 

 "The day of over-the- fence diagnosis is 

 fading out. Modern laboratory facilities 

 make it possible to diagnose obscure 

 diseases which otherwise might go un- 

 detected. 



"Many diseases out in the field have 

 similar symptoms and only through lab- 

 oratory facilities can you differentiate 

 between the various diseases accurately," 

 he says. 



"We have had chickens sent in to 

 us at the Peoria laboratory to distin- 

 guish between range paralysis and 

 Newcastle disease. We have also had 

 specimens sent in to distinguish be- 

 tween anthrax, black leg and hemor- 

 rhagic septicemia, or between swine 

 erysipelas and malignant edema." 



The laboratories are for diagnosis 

 only. The treatment is left to local 

 veterinarians. Here, as Dr. Boebel ex- 

 plains it, is how the service works. 



"A farmer or veterinarian brings in 



Shown at work (left) in 

 the Peoria laboratory ore 

 Dr. F. W. Boebel (left) and 

 William Herman, labora- 

 tory helper. At the Cen- 

 tralia lalioratory (right) 

 are Dr. L. D. Jones (left) 

 and George Emmett, tech- 

 nician astiitant. 



Examining a iMicteria ilide itoined to 



molce It visible is V. E. Peterson, assistant 



director and chief bacteriologist at the 



Peoria i oboro t ory. 



a pig that is either dead or dying. He 

 wants to know what is wrong. If the 

 pig is alive we kill it and f>erform an 

 autopsy to see what we can find inside 

 the animal. 



"Perhaps the pig shows lesions of 

 erysipelas. We immediately take some 

 of the blood and inject it into a pigeon. 

 If it is erysipelas the pigeon will be 

 dead in 18 hours. 



"We then notify the local veterinar- 

 ian of our findings and he can then 

 prescribe the proper treatment." 



This is the type of work the labora- 

 tories are equipped to handle, and work 

 a busy veterinarian would not have 

 time to do. A farmer sending the lab- 

 oratories specimens must furnish the 

 name of his veterinarian with each 

 specimen. 



In addition to the diagnostic work, 

 the laboratories are doing the blood 

 testing for Bang's disease control work. 



The Peoria diagnostic laboratory is 

 located at 2101 S. Washington street, 

 Peoria; the Centralia laboratory at 114 

 West Broadway, Centralia; and the 

 Chicago laboratory at Room 206, 999 

 Exchange avenue, Chicago 9- 



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