32 2 MILK AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH chap. 



tuberculin, and all found tuberculous killed and compensation 

 paid, is wholly impracticable since the amount of compensation 

 required would be enormous, while no surety that the disease 

 was extirpated could be arrived at, unless the animals surviving 

 were all re-tested with tuberculin, and all imported animals 

 regularly tested and re-tested. Apart from this the killing 

 of about 25 per cent of all the milch cows in the country 

 would cause a milk famine. All responsible veterinary authori- 

 ties are united in advocating that measures for dealing with 

 this disease must be on selective and preventive lines, 

 operating somewhat slowly. 



Of the methods for the eradication of this disease that of 

 Bang of Denmark has been the most widely practised. 



Bang's Method. — The principle of the method is the 

 separation of the healthy from the diseased animals, and the 

 rearing of a healthy non-infected stock. The procedure 

 adopted is very clearly described in the Eeport ^ of the Bir- 

 mingham Committee which visited Denmark in 1908 to study 

 this method. The following description is largely taken from 

 this report. 



Tuberculin is used as the diagnostic agent, and is 

 recognised as reliable for this purpose if the uncertain 

 reactors are separated from the healthy stock until a subse- 

 quent test shows them to be tuberculous or decidedly free, 

 and this second test is not deferred too long. All' cows suffer- 

 ing from udder tuberculosis and " wasters " are slaughtered. 

 The herd is then divided into a " free portion " and an " infected 

 portion." Bang recommends the removal of one of these to 

 another farm, or failing this, to another shed as far apart from 

 the original premises as possible. Where neither of these is 

 available, he, as a last resource, advises the separation of the 

 diseased from the healthy by a brick or a wooden partition 

 in the cowshed, unprovided with doorway or other opening, 

 and the restriction of each group to a separate end of the 

 shed. At first separation by partition in this way was 

 deemed sufficient, but the risks of communication from time 

 to time during the year are so great that wherever buildings 

 some distance apart are procurable their use is advised. 

 Similarly in summer, separate fields are prescribed, but on 



^ Special Ileport to Birmingham Health Committee, 1908. 



