154 TUBERCULOSIS 



Applyino- the tuberadin tat. In brief, the method for ap- 

 plying the tuberculin test in cattle is as follows : 



1. The normal temperature of the animal to be tested 

 must be determined. It is recommended that it be taken 

 hourly or every two hours for the day preceding the test, 



2. The tuberculin is injected subcutaneously in the side 

 of the neck. Care must be taken that the syringe is sterile 

 and the site of injection should be disinfected. The size of 

 the dose depends upon the preparation of tuberculin. 



3. Beginning 6 or 8 hours after the injection, the tem- 

 perature should be taken hourly or at least every two hours 

 for fully three-fourths of a day. 



4. During the time of testing, the cattle should be kept 

 quiet, free from all exposui'e, and fed normally. 



5. In case of reaction, there should be a rise of at least 

 1.5° F. above the maximum individual normal temperature as 

 determined on the preceding day. The elevation should come 

 on gradually', remaining practically at its fastigium for a few 

 hours and gradually subside. Erratic elevations of short dura- 

 tion are to be excluded. In cases of doubt the animals should 

 be retested. 



6. Animals advanced in pregnancy and those known to 

 be suffering from any disease or in oestrum should be excluded. 

 All methods of treatment including exposure to cold, kind of 

 food and drink which would tend to modifj^ the temperature 

 should be avoided. Animals in which the disease is well 

 advanced sometimes fail to react. 



7. The dose should vary to correspond with the weight 

 of the animal. In cases of a second test, within a few days, 

 the quantity of tuberculin injected should be larger than for 

 the first test. 



lected during the reaction than was contained in the test injection ; 

 also by clinical observations which indicate that patients suffering from 

 localized surgical tuberculous processes of limited extent, and where the 

 vascular supply to the part is limited, require a larger test injection to 

 produce the reaction than those who have extensive or scattered visceral 

 lesions in highly vascular organs like the lungs." The reader is referred 

 to this paper for a careful consideration of the vexed questions relating 

 to tuberculosis. 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



