1908.] 



Swine-Fever. 



339 



buy pigs in the markets, or are dependent in any way on 

 other people for their supplies, it cannot be claimed that the 

 possession of sanitary premises is any safeguard against the 

 introduction of the disease. After what has been stated above 

 in relation to the virulent material and the spread of disease, it 

 should not be necessary to do more than shortly summarize 

 the observances for precaution as follows : — 



1. Pigs which have been recently purchased, or which 

 have been off the premises to a market and brought back 

 again, should be kept isolated from the others for about a 

 month, and carefully watched ; the same rule applies to 

 sows which have been to the boar and to pigs which have 

 recently been cut by a practising castrator. 



2. Sows which have survived an outbreak, that is to say 

 those which in all likelihood have suffered from swine-fever 

 and recovered, should not be bred from, as there is a con- 

 siderable amount of circumstantial evidence to show that 

 they possibly infect their young. 



3. In the event of swine-fever, or suspicious symptoms 

 appearing in any part of the premises, the pigs therein should, 

 if possible, be kept rigidly isolated from the others, and have 

 separate attendants, who should wear special boots and overalls 

 in and about the sties. The experimental inquiries conducted 

 by the Board show that sick and healthy pigs can be kept in 

 .close proximity without the latter becoming infected, if the 

 sties are completely separated from each other, and the atten- 

 dance is performed by separate persons. It is true, of course, 

 that under such conditions it will be difficult at any time safely 

 to assert that the pigs in the other sties are not sickening for 

 swine-fever, and that they can be sent to market without risk, 

 but inasmuch as it is advisable on infected premises to stop 

 breeding, and fatten off all pigs for slaughter before restocking, 

 it will greatly tend to lessen the losses while this is in progress, 

 if proper measures for internal isolation are taken. 



4. Once an infected sty has been cleared of its occupants, 

 it should be thoroughly disinfected and left empty for about 

 three weeks. 



5. If there are rats on the premises, an effort should be 

 made to reduce their numbers by the use of one of the viruses 

 which are harmless to pigs. This is advisable, not because 



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