Hog Cholera and Its Pbevention. 143 



chaser they should be held in. quarantine for about thirty 

 days. Observation of the above precautions should remove 

 all possibility of trouble. 



Whether or not every breeder of hogs in the United 

 States should adopt the policy of simultaneously treating 

 his animals, and thus establishing and maintaining a perma- 

 nent immune herd, is for each breeder himself to deter- 

 mine. Situated as we are, in the very center of the great 

 swine producing section of the country, where hog cholera 

 outbreaks are constantly occurring, and hog cholera germs 

 are with us practically all of the time, this method of treat- 

 ment is our only salvation, and affords the only means by 

 which we can check and prevent the disease. For breeders, 

 who live in sections of the country where the disease 

 seldom occurs, and who are not bringing in stock from 

 cholera infested districts, the need for immediate action is 

 not so imperative. But those breeders who do not adopt the 

 practice of permanently immunizing their herds, and follow 

 this up by likewise immunizing their young stock as it 

 comes along each year, should be ever on the alert, and 

 when an out-break of cholera does* occur in their locality 

 they should at once get in touch with their state authorities, 

 and active and persistent steps be taken to check the prog- 

 ress of the disease. 



Unfortunately, many of our states have not as yet pro- 

 vided ample facilities for the production of proper serum 

 and virus to meet the demand when hog cholera becomes 

 epidemic. Under these circumstances breeders are forced 

 to depend upon commercial concerns for their supplies. 



It is in helping the breeder to get pure and potent serum 

 and virus that the state and federal authorities can be of 

 greatest assistance. Every plant manufacturing these 

 supplies should be under constant state or federal super- 

 vision, and every bottle of serum and virus sent out should 

 bear the stamp of the government inspector. This would 

 in effect place all serum and virus on a recognized standard 

 basis as to their purity and potency, and would insure to 

 the farmer and breeder the quality of the article they were 

 getting. Then steps should be taken by the state author- 

 ities to see that the serum and virus are administered by 



