392 



Report on Diseases of Animals, [august,. 



treated and despatched to 83 ; it is hoped that in a short 

 time it will be possible to furnish a report on the value of 

 this method. 



In an appendix to the report, a paper is given which Mr. 

 Stockman read in September, 1909, at the International 

 Veterinary Congress at the Hague. This paper summarises 

 the results of the investigations into swine-fever since 1905. 



The report of the Assistant Secretary deals with the work 

 arising in connection with the administration of the Diseases 

 of Animals Acts, and Mr. Anstruther points out that the 

 returns of outbreaks of diseases of animals during the year 

 1909 are, on the whole, very favourable. There has been no 

 recurrence of foot-and-mouth disease in Great Britain. The 

 number of outbreaks of swine-fever has fallen from 2,067 m 

 1908 to 1,650 in 1909, of sheep scab from 849 to 685, and of 

 glanders and farcy from 789 to 533. In anthrax alone has 

 there been an increase in the number of outbreaks reported, 

 the figures for 1909 being 1,317, as against 1,105 in 1908. 



With regard to swine-fever, the immediate outlook appears 

 more hopeful than has been the case in recent years, but one 

 of the greatest obstacles met with in dealing with the disease 

 is the fact that it now constantly assumes a very benign form,, 

 so much so that the loss arising from its appearance on any 

 particular premises is often apparently very slight. This 

 benign or chronic form of swine-fever is, however, identical 

 with the acute form of the disease, and the acute form may 

 at any time develop from the chronic form. The fact that 

 the disease often runs a mild course throughout an outbreak 

 does not lessen to any considerable extent the danger of its 

 being spread by contact between the diseased swine and other 

 swine. The restrictions enforced must, therefore, in the 

 public interests be the same wherever the existence of swine- 

 fever has been confirmed, so far as regards the premises upon 

 which disease has been detected. The fact that the disease 

 in the milder form not infrequently passes unnoticed by the 

 pig-owner renders the necessity for the maintenance of general 

 restrictions on the movement of store swine from district to 

 district more than ever imperative, and tends to increase the 

 importance and usefulness of more stringent movement re- 

 strictions in areas in which outbreaks recur, and as to which 

 the available evidence indicates that undetected centres of 



