1 1 1 2 Veterinary Obstetrics 



be taken against the entrance of the infection-. There is every 

 reason why the buyer of cattle should resort to the same expedi- 

 ent in guarding his interests as has long been common among 

 horsemen — a veterinary examination for soundness. In cows 

 and heifers, the disease is usually easily detected. At present, 

 any examination of a bull may be unreliable. Of more value are 

 the examinations of the cows which he has recently served. A 

 bull calf, which has not been used, but has been kept in a herd 

 where the disease exists, should be regarded as dangerous for 

 introduction into a clean herd until subjected to quarantine with 

 daily disinfection. 



The prevention of the extension of the disease to heifer calves 

 in an infected herd is apparently a simple matter. In Herds, 

 66% of all females are diseased, while of virgin heifers but 17% 

 are affected. In Herd 2, the percentage of infection was 61 

 among heifer calves. In Herd 2, during the time elapsing be- 

 tween inspection in January and inspection on May 23rd, each 

 heifer recorded as sound by the first inspection had become in- 

 fected, without having been bred. From our investigations, it 

 appears highly probable that the disea.se is transmitted to heifer 

 calves largely by grooming with utensils befouled by use on 

 diseased animals. Caretakers may carry the disease to calves 

 in other ways, which prudence would suggest should be avoided. 

 If practicable, they should be kept in separate stables or en- 

 closures, and not groomed with utensils used on diseased animals. 

 They should on no account be served by suspicious bulls. 



In Herd 2, are some very young infected heifer calves which 

 have not been groomed. Having drawn the attention of the 

 manager to the dangers of grooming with infected utensils, no 

 further grooming occurred. Still the calves were infected. In- 

 quiries revealed the fact that the calves had suffered from 

 diarrhae and the feces had been washed from the tail, vulva, etc, 

 with a sponge used for sponging away the muco-purulent vulvar 

 discharges of neighboring diseased cows. The sponge had been 

 used in water containing a little creolin, far too little to disinfect. 



The bull is the fundamental transmitter of the disease, through 

 copulation. A herd bull should not be allowed to serve strange 

 cows, unless they are regarded sound by a competent examiner. 

 Even then, it is good economy to regard the cow as suspicious 

 and disinfect the prepuce and penis of the bull immediately after 

 coition. 



